The Last of Us II
by Drexbann15
Summary: Joel made his choices with the Fireflies, and he swore to Ellie that it was true. But now with Marlene dead, the remaining Fireflies have a new leader and he's willing to do whatever it takes to bring Ellie back for the cure. Join Joel, Ellie, and their allies as they fight Infected and Non-infected to endure and survive...
1. Chapter 1: Seeking the Light

**Chapter 1: Seeking the Light**

* * *

Ellie traced her fingers over that familiar scar over her forearm as she sat in the driver's seat of the car. Only the sound of the hood slamming got her got of her trance as a burly voice addressed her.

"Well... looks like we're walking." Joel stated as he headed towards the woods. "Should be a straight shot through here."

"Alright." Ellie shut the door and followed him.

"Actually kinda pretty ain't it?" It actually really was.

"Yeah."

They came to a barbwire fence, and Joel kindly lifted it up so that she could squeeze under.

"Alright, now watch your head going through."

She came out on the other side and held the wire for Joel. "Here... Got it."

"Oh... Feelin my age now..." They continued on their way when Joel started talking, feeling a conversation would liven things up.

"Don't think I ever told you but Sarah and I used to take hikes like this." Joel fondly remembered. "I think ah... I think the two of you really would've been good friends. Think you really woulda liked her. I know she woulda liked you."

"I bet I would've." Ellie replied quietly.

He pointed. "Wow. Look down there. Just a little bit further now."

The two came up to a cliff and Joel hopped on a log into climb himself up, but his weight toppled the wood down just as he jumped. He spun around then offered his hand to help Ellie up. She jumped and she grabbed hold and they were both on top of the hill, relived to see Tommy's settlement, Jackson, in the valley before them.

"Alright, come on." Joel affirmed.

"Hey wait." Ellie stopped him. She needed to get this off of her chest.

He turned to face her. Damn this was going to be hard...

Ellie sighed and began her confession. "Back in Boston, back when I was bitten, I wasn't alone. My best friend was there. And she got bit too. ...We didn't know what to do... ...So, she says 'Let's just wait it out. Y'know, we can be all poetic and just lose our minds together'. I'm still waiting for my turn."

"Ellie-"

"Her name was Riley and she was the first to die. And then it was Tess. And then Sam."

Joel responded in comfort as he crossed his arms. "None of that is on you."

"No you don't understand-!"

The old man before cut her off and actually began to confess himself now. "I struggled for a long time with surviving. And you... No matter what, you keep finding something to fight for." He was being direct now, but he didn't get... "Now, I know that's not what you want to hear right now, but it's-!"

Enough.

She was tired of it, she needed a straight answer. "Swear to me! Swear to me that everything you said about the Fireflies is true!"

Joel stood firm but his heart was hesitant. "I swear..."

Those green eyes were piercing but accepting... "Okay."

* * *

Marlene lied dead in a pool of her own blood in the parking lot of St. Mary's Hospital in Salt Lake City. An hour had passed when her corpse was quickly surrounded by boots wore by the militia that wore that Firefly sash. The platoon of soldiers looked down at their leader's body, all more than likely frustrated that they were not with her to change things.

It wasn't until they turned their attention to the man that strides calmly, his footsteps echoing across the parking garage.

The men stood at attention, saluting their superior with loyalty. "Sir!"

"At ease..."

The man stopped to examine woman's body. The tall broad-shoulder white man covered his mouth with horror. His clear blue eyes scanning, memorizing every detail, while he combed his shaggy black shoulder length hair behind his ear with his fingers as he turned his head and noticed a vehicle was missing.

His dragged over his short black beard as the superior also noticed only two shell casings from a pistol around the body, so he picked up Marlene's gun and checked the clip. "She didn't fire a single shot..." He whispered to himself.

She surrendered to him... she pleaded with him to give her back... to do the right thing... and still...

His blood began to boil. "How could one man... do all this damage?" He turned to his men. "How could ONE MAN best all of you?!"

They had nothing to say; they just had their eyes downcast in shame, how could one man really do this?

His eyes glared back at the dead woman. "My God..." He sniffed. "Marlene was generous; she was a fair leader with a just cause! But... look what he has done to her... shot her like a DOG!"

They just continued to listen being rallied by his words.

"HOW DARE HE?!" His voice boomed.

A lone corporal stepped forth. "Commander Devlin, the smuggler she recruited... I heard her mention his name earlier... an old man named Joel."

"Joel, you say?" He raised an eyebrow at this information. "And how did this 'Joel' come in contact with Marlene?"

"...His brother was one of us." He revealed.

"Was?" Devlin pried. "Did he go AWOL?"

"No sir, he was discharged a few years back, under Marlene's discretion."

Now it clicked. He remembered now. "Was his name Tommy?"

"Yes sir." The corporal nodded confirming his theory.

He smirked to himself at his right assumption. How convenient for him to actually know about him. "Of course..."

It really was a small fucking world...

"Pull up his file and have it on my desk in an hour." Devlin ordered as he walked back to the exit. "And take care of her body... real good care, you hear?"

Commander Devlin paced himself through the Hospital floors; he needed to think... he needed to make plans, crucial plans.

She told him she wanted him to patrol the city, secure the perimeter around the base, if he was here, if he was in the parking garage with her... there would be no question...

He stepped into the office of the Hospital Manger, his own private place of study. He turned on the desk lamp and sat in the tattered leather chair.

...But then his eyes wandered to the far wall that he personally decorated... he turned on the light...

Dozens of jars lined the shelves in front of him, their contents filled with preservative liquids and little spheres...

From infected, and unbeknownst to anyone else non-infected as well, these little spheres were the extracted eyeballs of Devlin's victims...

Hundreds of eyes with some of their optic nerves still attached to them stared back at him... lifeless...

"_The girl is still alive... we can still save humanity. I promise you with my word and my life that I will bring her back and avenge you..."_

Shit just got personal...

* * *

_Three Months Later..._

"Joel! I'm home!"

Ellie slammed the front door shut as she jogged through their little house in the calm community of Jackson. Joel was in the kitchen making dinner. "You home? Hope you're hungry."

Ellie yawned as she sat herself down at the nearby table. "Damn that smells good. Hell yeah."

"Good." Joel nodded as he picked up the pot and placed it on the table in front of her. "Dig in."

Her face scrunched up as she examined her meal. "What the hell is this?"

"Peaches and beans." Joel smirked at his cooking skills. "I did with what we had. It's a real shame ain't it? Food supplies are running low lately and will just have to make do."

"What?" She whined. "Then let me go out hunting and I'll get us some real meat, not this shit."

"Hey, don't knock it still you try, anyway you got that there school thing to worry about."

"I hate school." She spat.

"You make any friends?"

"What do you think?"

"Don't get smart with me girl" Joel warned as he piled his plate with his concoction. "Eat up, it's the weekend tomorrow so be thankful."

"Could have come sooner if you ask me," Ellie sighed as she grabbed a helping of food. "School sucks."

"How you doing in the classes?" Joel pried but then it occurred to him. "Wait, where have you been since they let you out?"

"I was just out for a walk. Classes are boring by the way." She had her first bite, not as bad as she thought.

"Where?" He glared at her.

"Just around town." Ellie vaguely answered.

"Were you with a boy?" Joel bluntly guessed.

Ellie dropped her spoon with a clank. "No! Why would you think that?"

"I was just asking." Joel receded. "Can't be too careful..."

"I can take care of myself!" Ellie defended. "For your information I was up by the cliffs. Honest!"

"Well, alright..." Joel nodded seemingly satisfied. "Just tell the truth and you won't get no spit from me. Deal?"

The truth? Coming from him? Yeah right... "Deal."

And their conversation faded to sounds of eating, the sun had already set and the two of them went to their own bedrooms, saying their mutual goodnights. Perhaps a day of fun was in store for their Saturday tomorrow...

Ellie got in her modest pajamas and hopped in her bed. Her t-shirt revealed the aged bite on her arm. She then turned her head and gazed out the window to see a crescent moon in a clear sky.

Ellie sighed. "Why me...?"

* * *

"Ellie!" Joel was already knocking on the door. What the hell was it six in the morning?!

"Ellie, get up and get dressed! Double time!"

She put the pillow over her face muffling her words. "It's fucking Saturday Joel! Come on!"

"I need you to listen to me! Be downstairs in five minutes. I ain't kidding. NOW!"

She was thankful he wasn't busting through the door, but his seriousness finally alerted her as she jumped out of bed and put her regular clothes on. She put on her backpack and was by the door in four minutes. "I'm here. What's up?"

Joel opened the front door for him. "Tommy n' Maria called us to head towards the dam for something private. We gotta go."

Another stupid meeting... what was it this time?

"What for?"

"I don't know the details, but we just gotta go." Joel motioned her to move forward. "Go on, scoot."

Ellie agreed and the two of them were outside and they crossed a few dozen houses until they meet with guards which patrolled the outer wall of Jackson and the precious power-producing dam. Eventually, they arrived by the front doors and a guard saw them and called out to them.

"Joel!" The guard called. "Tommy wants you to follow me. Alright?"

"Lead the way."

The guard led them through the dam towards the back office where Tommy worked. He opened the door and let them in only to close it behind him and keep watch outside.

Tommy was his desk looking stressed while Maria was right next to him, her gun was out... and she held the barrel firmly out of arm's reach at the hostage they had on his knees and his hands tied...

Joel and Ellie's eyes' widened in disbelief at the black man in front of them... he was in a Firefly uniform...

Tommy chimed in. "Thought I should call you two in first... this could be a real problem..."

"No shit." Maria added as she cocked her gun. "Now tell us! What are you doing here?!"

The Firefly looked up at his new visitors, but his gaze leaned more towards Ellie, he gave a smug smile.

His voice was deep. "Goddamn... haha, do I have some news for ya girl..."

"Don't you talk to her!" Joel barked as he pulled out his gun.

"Wait!" Tommy was one of the few people who had a chance of stopping the gun from going off. "He's a messenger, let him talk Joel!"

"Yeah, let me talk Joel!" The Firefly mocked.

Tommy took command and non-verbally told Joel to holster his weapon. "What's your name?"

"Lesher." He introduced himself.

"Why are you here, Lesher?" Maria pressed the barrel to the back of his head.

"Oh, well I can get used to this. ...I've never been the one on my knees before." Lesher chuckled.

"Keep talking like that and see what happens." Maria threatened.

"All kidding aside..." Lesher went on. "I thought it would be fairly obvious as to why I have made my presence known. Better words for ya, sweetheart?"

Maria was not amused. "Get on with it!"

"He's here for me..." Ellie gasped and then her disappointed eyes fell on Joel who avoided her glare.

Lesher laughed. "Ding ding ding! We have a winner!"

Her eyes began to water. "Joel..."

* * *

**A/N- And so, Joel will have to pay the consequences for his actions. What news does Lesher have in store for them? And will Commander Devlin's wrath be made known? Find out Jackson's fate, next time on The Last of Us II...**

**Review for support, pretty please with fungal spores on top? ;)**


	2. Chapter 2: First Contact

**Chapter 2: First Contact**

* * *

"Joel... you fuckin' lied to me!" Ellie screamed.

"Ellie I-!"

"You swore to me! You swore to me right in my face! I knew it! I fuckin' knew it! And I just...!" Ellie cried as she stormed off out of the office, slamming the door in the process.

"Ellie!" He was about to go after her, but Maria to his surprise stopped him.

"Joel, let me." She insisted. "I'll do my best to calm her down. She may not want to see you at the moment... Tommy?"

"Yeah, go ahead Maria." Tommy agreed. "Try to calm her down. We'll deal with this."

"I really should go talk to her..." Joel grumbled.

"Trust me..." Maria stepped through the door as she comforted him. "Listen to your brother..."

She left the dankly office room and closed the door behind her, intent on calming the young girl down to the best of her abilities. So, Tommy sat up and pulled out his pistol as he took Maria's position of holding the gun to Lesher's head.

"I'll miss ya baby!" He catcalled to her and continued his jokes. "So... You plan on winning Dad of the Year or something? I guess not!"

Joel's deadly glare turned to the Firefly before him. He pulled out his own pistol once more and he bashed the butt of his gun upside Lesher's head!

"RYA!" He swung and a spatter of blood lined the floor beside him as his body fell on his side.

"Fuck! You piece of-!" He heard two cocks from two different guns this time. Enough jokes for now he guessed.

Joel bellowed. "Give us one damn reason why we shouldn't kill you right now!"

"Because I got a message..." Lesher groaned. "The messenger always has a message..."

"What is it? Tell us already!" Tommy barked while getting infuriated as well.

"My boss wants me to tell you to bring the immune girl and the guy that killed Marlene, Queen Firefly if you're fancy." Lesher smirked. "That must be you and your girl, old man. ...You two better show your pretty faces by the front gates real soon. Gonna be a good amount of mean Fireflies swarming outside, I promise you that..."

"What's your boss's name? Who's in charge?!" Joel demanded.

"Shit... his name is Devlin. Alright?"

"Devlin...? Wait a second..." Tommy suddenly had a blast from the past.

"That it?" Joel raised an eyebrow.

Lesher sighed as he squirmed. "Yeah man, now get me outta here before I get real mad. ...Or at least bring back that blond bitc-!"

BANG!

Lesher's head was blown back as the bullet made its impact which instantly killed him. And Tommy's gun was still smoking from the shot fired...

"Ain't no one gonna talk about my wife like that in front of me." Tommy declared as he put away his weapon.

"You beat me to it, little brother." Joel praised his action. "That guy wasn't real smart and he annoying as hell."

Tommy replied. "I'll get somebody to clean this up later. Let's walk and talk."

He went over and opened the office door and started at a brisk pace while Joel quickly followed. "Get that body outta there." He told the guard that led Joel on his arrival there.

The Texan Brothers were on their way out of the dam and heading towards the outside and then eventually the outer gates. The workers and engineers were still clanking away, maintaining the turbines which provided the electricity to power Jackson, not even aware of what had just happened.

While they were still walking on their way, Joel addressed him. "Tommy, you know him right? This... Devlin?"

"Yeah, I do Joel." Tommy confirmed. "He ain't nothing but bad news... I know because he was my old squad-mate back in my Firefly days..."

"What happened?"

Tommy finally stopped outside the front door of the dam, recounting those days seems unbearable. "I can't say..."

Joel inquired. "Why?"

"You got your secrets, and I still got mine." Tommy shut down the conversation. "Nothing good will come out of it if I told you."

"Tommy, whatever it is-!"

"Don't... just drop it." He almost looked away but Joel could see his eyes were full of dread and regret. "Please..."

"Alright..." Joel nodded seeing as it would be useless to persist. "So what's the plan on meeting this Devlin guy? Ellie and I can take off before he even gets here..."

"That might be our only option... I'll get some guys together and we'll get ready to meet him."

Joel and Tommy then began to notice the sun was barely peeking above the hill to the East of them... what will this day have in store for them...?

* * *

**Play the Last of Us OST Fleeting (Affection) on a second tab.**

Ellie just ran... she ran and ran and ran... she just needed to put as much distance as possible between herself and Joel. She ran out of the dam, past the town, and into the fenced-in woods, where she hoped to find solitude on top of the cliffs where she always sat when she got out of school.

How could he do this to her...? After almost a year of traversing of what felt like hell now! What about Tess?! What about Sam and Henry?! Did they die for nothing?!

But what about Marlene...?

Did he...? She never would've let them go... Did Joel... kill her too?

No. Why did he have to... "She would've come after me... right...?"

"Fuck you Joel..."

Ellie's sprint slowed down to a brisk jog... then a sluggish walk and then she noticed her heart was beating a mile a minute. But then it finally went back to its regular rhythm when she found her spot to dangle her legs off the nearby cliff which overlooked the town and had the woods to her back.

It was always so peaceful up here... there were some birds chirping, and crickets were applauding, the morning dew dampened the leg bottoms of her jeans and shoes. So, she dragged herself past the last tree, only to find herself surprised to see another person next to the spot where she always sat...

Who was he? He looked familiar... Was he in a class with her or something?

Curiosity got the better of her and she did her best to wipe away the tears. "Hey."

The boy turned around and seemed to tense up at the sight of her, but he soon relaxed. "Oh, hey..."

"Mind if I sit down there? It's kind of my thing." Ellie requested, she really wanted to ask him to leave so that she could be alone but... that would be a very dick move on her part, he was here first after all.

"Yeah, sure." The boy patted the earth right next to him as he continued to gaze at the horizon.

Ellie moved a little closer and she got a better look at him. The boy definitely was in her school and looked familiar; she just couldn't recall his name. Although, she noticed that he had short dark brown hair with matching eyes. He had a few freckles on his face and arms, and he was a little pale-looking in her opinion. He wore a dark brown long-sleeved sweater, a black wool vest, and jeans.

It was still summer, but Ellie noticed that it had been quite chilly this morning. She shivered as she sat down right next to the boy, both of them mirroring each other's gaze towards the eventual rise of the sun. Oddly enough, the silence wasn't really awkward... kind of nice but after a minute or two it got boring... maybe talking to him would get her mind off of-!

"Your eyes are red..." He almost made her jump with the interruption of her thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Ellie spat as she wiped her eyes again and turned her body away from him.

"Misery loves company, you know?" He commented sympathetically while finally introducing himself. "I'm Rylan, good to meet another kid with my taste in scenery."

Her heart skipped a beat when she heard the pronunciation of his name, it so similar to... hers... She threw that thought into the back of her mind but put her guard partially back down, so she turned herself back to face slightly towards him. "Ellie."

She could see the corner of his mouth twitch at the small victory of getting her name. "I know it's none of my business, but my mom always told me connecting with people is real important. ...I'm not real good at it though, according to my track record."

"Uh-huh. So... what then?"

Rylan turned his head towards her. "If you need to vent, I'll listen."

Ellie sniffed. "I don't need to vent about anything."

Rylan retreated back into himself. "Right... sorry."

Wait what was he sorry for? He just said he'd listen if Ellie wanted to talk. She shouldn't be mad at him for that; after all he is still sort of a stranger, maybe...

"Oh!"

Rylan's ears perked up. "What's up?"

"You sit in front of me in like most of my classes." Ellie remembered. That's why the back of his head looked familiar. "You're the smartass!"

"Is that a compliment?" He felt confused.

"You telling the students and even the teachers off every time you raised your hand, it was the only time I stayed awake during the lectures." Ellie grinned.

"I wasn't telling them off, I was correcting them." Rylan clarified. "I just pay attention while other people like you take a nap. Not my fault. ...And I'm not a smartass."

"Aw whatever..." Ellie shrugged him off. Maybe she couldn't stand a chance against him in school, but how about...

"You know what this is?" Ellie pulled out a small book and showed it to Rylan. Why was she showing this to him? Maybe this will get her mind off of...

"What is that? A joke book?" He guessed right.

"My personal Bible." Ellie smirked as she flipped through the pages of her No Pun Intended Book.

"Ah..." He smiled back. "Didn't expect a live show this morning. ...This going to be so bad, isn't it?"

"If by bad you mean good then hell yeah! Alright, first one up to bat. What is a Pirate's favorite letter of the alphabet?"

He came up with his first thought. "Arrgh, R?"

"Naw, tis' the C!"

"Haha, okay I'll give you that one."

"I used to be addicted to soap, but I'm clean now."

Rylan stifled a chuckle. "I actually never heard that one..." She continued the onslaught of punny humor.

"You know what's not right?"

"...What? Left?"

Ellie gave a toothy grin. "Yeah! Hahaha, that's awesome!"

"What else you got?" Rylan knew this was entertainment.

"Oh! Here's a good one. ...I was struggling to figure out how lightning works, then it struck me."

"I get it." He had to retaliate now. "Ellie, your puns may be cheesy, but I think they're pretty gouda."

"Oh my god, hahaha! That's even more awesome, I love it." Ellie was really happy for the first time in a while. "Hey, how come we never really met before?"

"Well to be honest, I like to keep to myself in school. And I'm always up here in the mornings. Afternoons, I go out hunting." Rylan explained. "I've only been here for... I don't know, since last winter."

Ellie put away her Pun Book, saving the rest of the jokes for later maybe. "You get to go out hunting? Lucky! Joel won't let me do anything..."

Her demeanor suddenly sagged and her mind wandered back to the revelation at the dam... sadness invaded her face.

"Joel your older brother or something?" He asked. "Or..."

"He's my... I don't know... guardian?" Father figure...

"Oh... he's why you're sad then?"

"I really don't want to talk about it..." Ellie knew her circumstances are just beyond anything she could explain to him. "No offense."

"None taken." Rylan nodded but then pointed. "Hey, look at that..."

That was when the sun finally peaked up over the hill they were watching. Conveniently, the cliff they were on was facing the East. And they had a spectacular view of the sunrise...

Ellie smiled as she fully appreciated it. "Wow..."

Little did they know that this new day would be the start of a long life-threatening adventure...

**End Fleeting (Affection) OST-**

* * *

It was seemingly apparent that Maria had lost track of Ellie, her trail disappeared when she ran into the woods and up towards the cliffs. She wasn't feeling good lately, she was pale and she threw up a couple times this morning...

"Must be a stomach bug..." Maria deduced.

Not in much shape to continue the pursuit, she annoyingly remembered how she had those, 'I hate you' declarations with her parents back in the Old Times before the Cordyceps. Ellie will eventually come around. She fought too hard to get here; she wouldn't just leave everything... no way.

So Maria doubled back at the dam's entrance to meet back with her husband and Joel, dismayed that she would more than likely have to deal with that rude Firefly... that was when she saw Joel run past her.

He shouted as he kept running. "You find Ellie? Where's she at?!"

Maria called back. "She took another hike in the woods. She'll be fine!"

Damn! Joel mentally thought, no time to double back. Get as many supplies as he could carry, find her, and then get the hell out of dodge. He made a beeline for his house...

"Why is he in such a rush?" Maria wondered until she kept going only to find Tommy up on the scaffolding which allowed them to overlook the outer wall of the dam.

Who was watching Lesher then?

"Honey! What's going on?" She called up to them.

Suddenly, she noticed that there were three men with rifles on either side of him aiming their guns over the wall at something...

Alarmed, Maria made her way to Tommy's side, and quickly she was right next to her husband, sharing the same shocked look as him at the scene before them...

A contingent of Firefly soldiers, at least 100 of them... stood in formation in front of the dam... and with them ten men on their knees gagged and tied up, they were hostages in an execution line...

Tommy whispered to her. "They captured our morning hunting team..."

"Where's the messenger we got?" Maria asked wondering if they could do some sort of exchange.

But before Tommy could respond, a man adorning a black trench coat and a megaphone stepped forward next to the captured hunter farthest on the right, there's no mistaking it...

"Devlin..." Tommy gasped.

Commander Devlin brought the megaphone up to his mouth. "How you doing Tommy boy? How's your little piece of paradise fairing?"

"What do you want?!" Tommy had to shout back just so he could hear him. "I don't run with the Fireflies no more!"

"I know, I know." Devlin chuckled. "I was just wondering if you could help me out a little. Just like old times."

Tommy decided to play along, keep him talking. "What's your problem?"

"I'm looking for someone, two somebodies as a matter of fact." He smirked. "A little girl, and an old man..."

Shit.

"Could you be more specific?" Please be anyone else...

"Their names are Joel and Ellie."

Goddammit!

"Never heard of them!" Tommy denied.

"Aw... Now how could you forget about your older brother like that?" Devlin mocked. "You were never really were a good liar to begin with, you know? Even back in the day."

"It ain't happening then!" Tommy proclaimed. "Whatever it is that you want, it's best that you just release the hostages, turn around, and walk away!"

"I can't do that Tommy boy." Devlin darkly responded. "We lived in this hell for over 20 years! I can't in good conscious turn my back on this. No sane man would!"

"We got your man!" Tommy attempted to bargain with a bluff. "Lesher's with us! We'll trade him for the hostages."

"...Surprised you didn't shoot him, but I suppose you can just keep him, he did his job..."

"We can talk things out then. Figure out some other way!" Tommy continued to stall.

"I've had enough of your bullshit Tommy boy!" Devlin hissed as stepped behind the first hostage and he took out the gag in his mouth.

Devlin lowered the megaphone so that his victim could speak. "Go on, tell'em your name."

The man was sobbing and sniffling, scared for his goddam life. He was just a young kid, probably not even 25 yet. "... M-my name's... J-j-jacob..."

Devlin brought the microphone back up. "Jacob, do you have anyone living in Jackson that you hold near and dear to your heart?"

He positioned the megaphone for him to response. "Y-yes! My wife... Margret..."

He pulled it back up. "Do you love your wife? Do you love Margaret?!"

"Yes I do!"

"THEN TELL HER!"

He yelped as the Commander nearly jammed the megaphone down his throat! "I love you, Margaret!"

"I DON'T THINK SHE HEARD YOU!" He screamed in his ear.

"I LOVE YOU, BABY! I LOVE YOU, MARGARET!" Jacob cried for his love to his wife so that all of the soldiers and the people in the dam could hear him.

"Now... say goodbye to her..."

"What?!" Jacob began to panic, he struggled to get free of his binding but to no avail. "No, no please!"

And without another moment's hesitation, Devin whipped out his .357 Magnum and...

BANG!

...quickly put an end to Jacob's life... leaving only nine hostages as his body slumped to the ground...

Tommy utterly horrified. "Jesus Christ..."

Maria and everyone else mirrored his reaction. "Oh my god..."

Commander Devlin holstered his revolver and continued on with 'negotiations'. "If you don't produce Joel and Ellie immediately, I will snuff the lights out of each of these men every two minutes you don't comply! That leaves you with 18 more minutes!"

The rest of the men were whimpering through their gags, they were brothers, fathers, and husbands, and they had death written on their faces...

"When I run out of hostages... we'll march in there ourselves and find them!" Devlin warned. "Understand?!"

"Joel and Ellie ain't here!" Tommy tried to partially lie as a last resort. "They left a while ago after you sent Lesher here!" Wasn't exactly a poor excuse but... Tommy would soon regret it...

"Is that so?" Devlin raised an eyebrow and smirked at his men. "If you're so insistent that they are NOT present..."

He gave the signal to his men...

"Then these men are just dead weight... FIRE AT WILL!"

Everyone in the dam went wide-eyed... especially Tommy. "NO!"

A firing squad that was parallel to the hostage execution line, fired a barrage of bullets, effectively killing all of them in an instant!

As those bodies fell, Devlin's army broke apart and assault rifles were being fired at will as the people in the dam ducked and hid behind the wall for cover.

"Get down!" Tommy tackled Maria to the ground to avoid being shot.

Tommy's men did their best to return fire, but there were just so many Firefly enemies that they were full of holes by the time they stood back up.

As bullets whistling by filled their ears, Tommy and Maria climbed back down to get their feet on dirt. They sprinted for it ordering everyone around to get inside the hydroelectric dam for refuge.

"Everyone get in the dam!" They barked in a fury, motioning everyone to get inside.

THUD!

The front gates were dented...

THUD!

Tommy was the last one to file inside, but just before he shut the door of the building with everyone in it...

THUD!

The gates were broken through as wheeled APC Tank with the Firefly insignia on the side just drove through it...

Jackson was being invaded... and this had become a war...

* * *

**A/N- Will Ellie ever forgive Joel for what he did? Can they both escape from Jackson now? Will Tommy be able to protect his wife and hold his town? And what could be his secret concerning Devlin be? Find out what happens next in the fight against the Fireflies! Until next time.**

**Keep up those review please, and I'll keep updating! :)**


	3. Chapter 3: Escaped or Captured

**Chapter 3: Escaped or Captured**

**A/N- Just a clarification: Rylan's name is pronounced, RYE-lan, not Dylan with an R. I intentionally made it so that his name is close to Riley's, that's why Ellie sort of opened up to him. And I'll explain Devlin's new Firefly war power next chapter. Anyway, let's get on with it!**

* * *

Ellie and Rylan continued to stare at the sunset, with a 'then it dawned on me' pun thrown in there somewhere.

But it wasn't until they heard distant gunfire near the dam that their harmonious trance was broken. "What's with all the shooting?" Rylan wondered. "Infected?"

An awful feeling rose in the pit of her stomach as Ellie's mind wandered to dark and dreadful things, especially with the presence of that Firefly that Tommy had held captive.

"It doesn't sound good, whatever it is... we should probably head back." Ellie stated in concern as her green eyes locked on at the dam in the distance.

"ELLIE!"

Ellie didn't even realize that it was Rylan that shouted her name, because little did she know that a platoon of Fireflies armed to the teeth had made their presence know, coming out of the woods right behind them!

Rylan had haphazardly dived at Ellie, grabbed her, and threw them both off the cliff they were on as the enemies behind them started emptying their clips!

The sounds of whizzing bullets only lasted a second as the two kids fell, rolling and tumbling as Rylan covered her with his body. He was taking the full force of the slamming against the slope as they were descending!

It was loud and it was rocky, Ellie didn't know which way was up, her hands and face were getting scratched and bruised, and she clearly heard Rylan's grunts of agony and pain with each impact while still holding onto her!

She didn't know how far they fell, but they both finally came to a stop on the soft grass below, a small field with a line of thin trees which was the boarder of the house residences of Jackson.

Ellie carefully tested her body, to see if anything was broken or damaged, other than some skids she felt on her knees and wrists, she was okay. But Rylan...

"Rylan? Hey... come on!" Ellie pushed him to wake him up. Why did he do that for her?!

He wasn't waking up... he wasn't responding, his eyes were shut...

Ellie tried shaking him again only to have the dirt beside her explode as the bullets embedded themselves in the earth!

"Fireflies?!" She yelped as she saw a platoon at the top of the cliff, aiming their weapons at her!

She had to run... she had to run now!

Like a bat outta hell, Ellie turned heel and ran for the tree line, abandoning Rylan's body and miraculously dodging the assault rifle gunfire that was still missing her!

She made it past the trees which provided the cover to hide herself from that squad of soldiers, but when she made it out on the other side to the street... That was when she realized the shit had hit the fan...

Jackson was chaos! She could hear gunfire all around her. Families were scrambling into their houses and Firefly soldiers were all over, trying to take over the town!

Ellie had walked into a warzone...

"Gotta get back to the house!" She told herself. "Gotta find Joel!" She knew he would go there to stockpile and get ready to fight or flee.

But before Ellie could take another step, an Armored Personnel Carrier drove around the corner of the adjacent house that was next to her, and it aimed its mounted machine gun right at her...

"Oh fuck..."

It seemed this was all Ellie would be doing today, running. Her mind raced trying to decide where to run to... there was a ditch in front of her! It looked like a moat from one of the fairy stories she used to read but there was no water!

That was as good as she was going to get, because the armored carrier started firing it's machine gun at her! The heavier bullets were licking the ground right behind her, sparks were flying off the paved street as Ellie dived for the moat. She tumbled some more now below eye level of the vehicle, and out of sight!

Ellie quickly recovered herself and finally realized that she was in a canal leading towards an open drainage pipe encase of flooding. She was covered in mud and muck and the sides were too slippery to climb back out. So she turned on her heels to notice the grated tunnel where the water would drain out of, and she headed for that!

Ellie could hear men clamoring above, unsure as to where she was. Morons...

"Fuck it." Ellie decided as she barely squeezed herself through a rusted out open hole in the metal bars, and soon she was wrapped in darkness, with only the light at her back.

Slightly crouching, her feet splashed with every step as Ellie blindly made her way down the tunnel as the war invasion above her raged on...

* * *

Joel was old, but he wasn't that old. He still had a fire in his belly, the fire of a survivor. In the house where he and Ellie resided for three months, he stuffed his backpack with as much ammo, medicine, and food as possible.

He knew Ellie almost better than everyone, she was smart... she had a mouth on her, but she was smart. Joel remembered talking to her in case if anything bad happened, they would meet up in an old hunting cabin tucked away in the mountains about a day or two's hike away. No one knew about it but them, so he was going to search Jackson for her first and then go to the cabin if he came up short.

"Come on!" Joel grunted as he grabbed the last can of beans and slung on his backpack which was chock-full of weapons. "Gotta make my way outta here."

The question is how? Front door wasn't an option so he went out the back door to his backyard. He could hear the gunfire like it was right next door, hell it probably was right next door...

Joel was racking his brains as to how to get out of here. He didn't have a car; a horse wouldn't work because you know... horses can get shot too...

Looks like he was going on foot... Joel hopped the far fence and into the next property across, and he was about to sneak around this garage when he stopped himself hearing a stick-up.

"Hands in the air!"

"Wait! Please! Don't shoot!" A man's voice.

The lone Firefly soldier pointed towards the open garage, he couldn't see Joel. "I said... get your hands in the air!"

"Please just let us go!" It was a woman's voice that was begging now; there were at least two people in the garage.

He suddenly heard the Firefly's walkie-talkie radio go off in waves of static. "-The-girl-isn't here-in-Jackson! Copy!"

Looks like it's time for Plan B. Joel made a decision and came out of his hiding spot and fired three bullets at the Firefly, all hitting their marks in his chest and head... he fell dead...

Joel turned towards the garage and saw a young blonde couple next to something that was under a tarp. Their hands were still up, a mixture of shock and disbelief on their faces.

"Uh... hey. How you doing?" Joel put his weapon away to calm them down. "I'm Joel... your neighbor, I guess."

The man and woman looked at their savior with gratitude and happiness in his presence. They both didn't look older than 30, and they both wore jeans and blue shirts. The guy was long-sleeved while the long blonde-haired girl was short-sleeved with a long-sleeved white shirt underneath.

She cried. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

They both had blue eyes as they advanced on Joel, each giving him a hug to their affection and to his very clear displeasure. "Uh... you're welcome, not get off."

The man beamed as they released him. "You are by far the best neighbor we have ever had! I'm Brad, and this is my fiancé Claire."

"Brad and Claire. Got it." Joel nodded, these were good people, just caught up in the middle of all this...

Brad went on. "Listen friend, we were just about to get out of here, and since you saved our lives and you seem to be in a bit of a rush... we would like to return the favor!"

Joel was at a loss for words. "What? Look, you two better just get on outta here before-!"

He was cut off when Claire lifted the tarp off, reveling an antique basically... a Harley Davidson Motorcycle... oh god did that bring back memories...

"We were going to try to use this to escape." She brought him back to the present.

What was weird for him though was that there was an attached sidecar on the right side of the bike. "Come with us, I bet you want to leave Jackson too, with the way you're packed up."

It could work... what other option was there?

And come on, it was a Harley.

"I'd be much obliged, thank you. You uh... know how to drive it?" Joel inquired.

"Not a clue!" Brad smiled. "We just found this in here last week caked in dust. But I bet a man of your... wisdom would know." Was he calling him old?

"It's like fate." Claire grinned while she tossed a helmet to her fiancé and one for herself. "Let's go!"

"Alright." Joel agreed as he quickly hopped on the driver's seat, keys still in the ignition.

Whoever lived here before these guys, they maintained the parts somehow... but now was not the time to think it through.

Brad sat in the sidecar while Claire sat in the back seat behind Joel. She wrapped her arms around him to keep steady as the machine sprang to life with a loud sputter and the motor roaring!

"Hold on tight!" Joel advised as he let the kickstand up and drove forward with the two of them.

Onto the street now with the bike, they had to make it to an exit. The nearest place would be the dam's front doors, more than likely busted open from the Fireflies.

He swerved and leaned carefully, with the sidecar attached, turning corners would be tougher. Soldiers and Jackson residents alike were awestruck at the loud motorcycle before them as it zoomed by, closer and closer to escape.

Joel looked off to his right to see Brad had pulled out his gun, and he fired at anyone who was in their path or looked like a threat. Claire still held on tight and they rounded the last corner to be in the courtyard which lied behind the dam's front entrance, and sure enough the gates were bashed open. Quick enough to avoid any more gunfire, but slow enough that Joel had locked eyes with the man who was in charge, wearing his black trench coat...

No mistaking it, in the split second they glared at each other, they already knew who they were. And then the three of them zoomed by, leaving Jackson in their wake and into the wild...

* * *

"Is everyone alright?!" Tommy called out to the people below who took refuge on the lower levels of the large room which held the turbines while he and Maria were outside his office door.

"Tommy, what do we do?" Maria tried to find comfort in his eyes.

"I'll think of something." He replied. "As long as Joel and Ellie got out safe, they should leave us alone."

"Did you not see what happened out there?!" Maria shouted at him. "He killed all of those hostages without even batting an eye! What makes you think he won't hurt anyone else?!"

"Then what do you suppose we do?!" He lashed back. "Fight?! He has the numbers, the guns, and he's already kicked in the front door. If we fight, we die! If we surrender, we might live. I know him... he's a ruthless motherfucker and this is our only chance... I don't want to lose you, Maria... or anyone else..."

He caressed her cheek and pulled her into a quick kiss. "So we just give up?"

"For now. But this is so we don't let anybody else die." Tommy consoled. "I'm sorry."

"No, don't be sorry. You're right..." Maria finally agreed. "Let's just hope Ellie and Joel got away."

"I'm with ya."

Then the entrances suddenly burst open and Fireflies began to flood the room...

* * *

Ellie crawled out of the pipe on her hands and knees on the other side.

She made it... "Shit..."

She came out more downriver of the hydroelectric dam, she could still see it, so she needed to put some distance between her and Jackson. Joel said if they ever had to leave and they somehow got separated, they would go to that cabin they found a while back and low lay there.

Ellie got her water bottle out and filled it up in the river, and also she quickly splashed herself to get most of the mud off. She put away her water and took off her backpack to see what she had. Her gun with a couple of clips, her switchblade, three protein bars which she'll save for later, and a blanket... not exactly survival mode, but she will have to make do...

"Alrighty then... which was is East?" Then she remembered the sun and looked up in the sky, looked like ten o' clock now...

She waded herself through the river which was waist-high, and came out onto the other side and quickly found the hiker's trail.

After maybe five minutes of nature sounds and walking, Ellie's stomach began to gurgle... "Damn... didn't even eat breakfast..."

She went off the beaten path to try to find some food nearby. Ellie didn't have anything for hunting so berries and fruit would have to do, if she found any...

After a moment or two of scavenging near a cluster of bushes, Ellie noticed a bush that had some scrumptious looking blackberries. She was walking towards it when her attention was caught on a cute little bunny rabbit that hopped his way out of some brush a few feet away.

She was real hungry for some meat right now, so much so, maybe she could kill it by shooting it?

If only she had her bow.

Ellie took out her gun and loaded it, clicking the safety off and aiming it at the rabbit. "I'll only use one bullet..."

Suddenly...

SWOOSH!

The little bunny was impaled by an arrow through the neck, its life snuffed out for a meal...

Ellie jumped as she swerved around to look for the culprit. "Jesus... Get the fuck out here! I have a gun!"

"You really do have a mouth on you, don't you?"

Carrying a black crossbow in his right hand, Rylan revealed himself from behind a tree and claimed his prize, "You do know that guns scare away any other animals around," He lifted the arrow out of the rabbit and cleaned it on his jeans. "A rabbit's hardly a meal."

"Rylan?! What are you doing here?!" Ellie wanted to tell him off but she was too astonished. "I thought you were..."

"Depending on how you fall, you can stick the landing, but you sure didn't make it easy on me..." Rylan smirked as he set down his crossbow and pulled out his large hunting knife.

Rylan knelled down with a noticeable wince, as he began skinning the rabbit to collect the meat and save it for later. Ellie never liked this part when Joel found food for them, but she learned to deal with it. "How did you get out of there?"

Talking while he was still skinning, "I'm smart, remember? You said so yourself."

"But that doesn't explain-!"

Rylan interjected. "How did you get out?"

"I just sorta ran. I'm lucky like that." She shrugged her shoulders. "So uh... yeah. What do you think about Jackson?"

Rylan finished the skinning and wrapped the meat up and saved it for later in his pack. "Fireflies probably wanted the dam for its power. It's a real good settlement, so I suppose they wanted to move in."

"More like barge in and fuck shit up." Ellie corrected. "What are you going to do?"

He sighed. "I... I actually don't know. Never liked the Fireflies really, just a bunch of terrorists with a pipe dream if you ask me."

"Terrorists?"

"I have seen them target civilians before and now they've done it again. But never a bold like this before..."

Did Marlene ever target civilians? Ellie shook the thought. "Well, I'm going this way-! *GURGLE*" Her stomach growled again.

"Someone sounds hungry..."

Ellie slightly blushed from embarrassment. "Yeah... you didn't hear that."

Rylan turned to her. "You really don't seem all too prepared for a trip through the mountains. You want some company? Where you headed?"

Would it be too much to rope him into this huge cluster that was her life? No, she couldn't ask him... But she will more than likely need him, seeing as he did have more supplies and she had next to none. Oh well...

"Yeah, sure." Ellie nodded, but for the first time she wanted seniority. "But you follow my lead though, anything I say goes."

"Oh? Yes, ma'am." Rylan humored as he held out his hand as a sign of trust. "Together then?"

"Together." She shook his hand, but she quickly let go. "We're going..." She pointed dramatically. "This way!"

"After you then." He followed her as he slung his crossbow over his backpack, both of them ready for a long hike.

Wait for us Joel...

* * *

"Dammit!"

"What's wrong?" Claire inquired.

"Outta gas." Joel tried to start it up one more time but to no avail. "Looks like we'll be walking."

Brad got out of the sidecar and pulled his wife-to-be away from Joel so that they could have a private conversation. Joel crossed his arms as he leaned against the bike and surveyed his surroundings.

Trees, trees, and more trees. Middle of the forest had its pros and cons but seeing as how it was about noon, according to the sun above him, a compass would be pretty handy right about now.

"Excuse us Joel?"

The old man turned his attention to the two of them and for some reason they looked like they had a big secret they wanted to reveal.

Brad coughed to clear his throat like before a formal announcement. "We have decided that we want join you. Will you have us?"

A formal request? This was kind of new... "I don't think so." He flatly denied.

"No, we really must insist." Claire chimed in. "We can tell that we would be a lot safer with you than on our own."

Girl you have no idea. Joel rubbed in eyes in exasperation. "You don't want to join me. Just go your own way."

"If you say no, we'll just follow you anyway." Brad grinned. "We're not rookies Joel, it just makes sense. Strength in numbers and all that, and you do look like a big number."

He could shoot them if they followed him but... they were too nice for that and they didn't have to help him out of Jackson...

"Fine, but listen!" Joel knew it would be useless to refuse, he knew these kind of people. "When I say you hide, you hide. When I say you run, you run. And so on in that fashion. Ain't that complicated, now got it?"

Claire and Brad high-fived each other at the new alliance, hopefully Joel wouldn't regret this but certainly he will be annoyed, maybe he could drop them off somewhere along the way?

Claire mentioned this in an attempt to settle Joel doubts. "Just so you know, both of us have killed before, Infected and Non-infected, we're not pushovers."

"Good." He walked off to lead their pack. "By the way, either of you got a compass?"

Just hold on for us Ellie...

* * *

**A/N- Joel and Ellie have both escaped Devlin's grasp for now, but they are separated and they must fight to get to each other with new friends by their sides. Can Tommy and Maria keep the piece in Jackson? What's Devlin's next move? What do you think of Rylan, Brad, and Claire so far?**

**Comments, Reviews, favs, and follows will incite a quicker update ;) Until next time!**


	4. Chapter 4: Diggin' for Mold

**Chapter 4: Diggin' for Mold**

**A/N- Be thankful, I was on a roll today, and you guys get this quick update. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

"My my, what nice little setup you have here Tommy boy." Devlin cackled as he sat in Tommy's chair in his office, while the actual owner of this place was being held at gunpoint by another Firefly.

"I wasn't lying. Joel and Ellie ain't here." Tommy reminded him. "We surrendered to you so that you would stop shooting at us."

"That was smart of you. Yes indeed..." Devlin commended. "...My men combed this entire town or yours in mere hours, and not a trace of them is to be found... which is very unfortunate for you."

"How the hell did you even get this many men all the way out here anyway?" Tommy inquired knowing this assault was very brash and over the top.

"Hehe... funny you should ask." Devlin explained. "A few of these 'soldiers' are actually some of your close neighbors. The bandits, gangs, anyone who could hold a gun and had a grudge against this place."

It was true. Jackson was not a stranger to these Bandit Gangs that tried to take over the town. Their last attack was when Joel and Ellie passed through on the way looking for that lab almost a year ago.

"And that Armored Carrier?"

"We 'picked it up' in a Quarantine Zone in Idaho Falls." Devlin must have been proud of that one. "Now that's enough questions from you. It's my turn now... where did your brother and the girl go?"

"Hell if I know." He spat.

"...I saw at least one of them escape on a motorcycle, does that surprise you?"

It actually did. "I'm jealous, haven't ridden one of those babies in a long while."

Devlin crossed his arms as he leaned back in the chair. "Tommy boy, do you even understand the gravity of this situation? Do you have any inkling...? Any iota of how important this is? This is bigger than me, bigger than you, bigger than anything that's happened in this foul world in a long... long time..."

Tommy retorted. "I understand where you're coming from Devlin... but it ain't your right to take that girl's chance away from living."

Devlin stood up, enraged. "NO! You do not understand! You need to realize... that sometimes doing the tiniest of evil could do a whole lot of good. Not one life is worth a million..."

Tommy growled. "You just keep telling yourself that while your men lay waste to anything in your way... How far are you willing to take this?"

"As far as I need it to... as far as it should be taken! For Marlene, for humanity, and for..." It was almost a whisper, but from a distant memory Tommy thought about it too, but decided not to press it in fear.

This will not be all for nothing... Devlin will not let it!

"...Well, what are you going to do now?" Tommy asked as he exhausted all of his argument.

Devlin remained stoic now. "We're going on a little trip Tommy boy, don't worry... your wife's coming with us..."

* * *

It was an oddly quiet day with no other contact from other people or Infected. It really dragged on as Rylan and Ellie continued their trek down the hiking trail. The cabin was on the other side of the mountain, and they just had to go around it.

They were walking side by side when Rylan asked in concern. "Hey Ellie, did your um... guardian, Joel make it out of Jackson?"

Was that even a question? But still... she worries for him but she was still a little angry at him. "Of course he did. I know he did, he always got us outta every jam when something came up."

Just get to the cabin, meet up with him, and we'll all be okay.

"Well, he sounds like a real good guy to have around. So we're meeting up with him?"

Ellie smirked. "Yeah. He can be a bit of a grouch sometimes, but you get used to him though."

Rylan mumbled. "Just hope when he finds us together, he doesn't get the wrong idea..."

Ellie certainly raised an eyebrow at that. "How old are you by the way?"

"I'm 16. You?"

"15 now. Umm... so... You think we should get to know each other?" Damn, how awkward can this be?

For some reason, Rylan frowned. "The thought crossed my mind... if you want to be my friend then it makes sense. What do you want to talk about?"

They were still walking as the hiking trail faded and they came up in a small knee-high grassy meadow with more trees outlining it, and beyond that the mountain they had to loop around.

"Who taught you how to hunt?" Descent enough question Ellie thought, something he knew well.

Rylan sighed and stared down at his feet, slowing his pace. "...My dad taught me."

Oh shit. Might have hit a nerve there. "...Were you by yourself back in Jackson?" She had to test the boundaries.

With a flare of emotion in his eyes he stopped which made Ellie stop. "Yes... I was, by myself in Jackson."

"Sorry." Ellie receded. "I never really knew my dad so..."

"Do we really need to talk about this?" Rylan asked with a tone of annoyance.

She shook her head. "No."

Rylan then walked ahead of Ellie at a near jogging pace. "Then let's just keep mo-!"

Suddenly the ground beneath Rylan's feet gave way and the grass and dirt collapsed into a sinkhole-like fashion and Rylan fell down into what looked like a cavern below!

"OW!" Man was he tired of falling today.

Ellie was flabbergasted as she stood on the edge of the large gaping hole in front of her and who was Rylan caught down in the middle of it. "Are you okay?! You scared the shit outta me!"

"I'm alright." Rylan warily responded as he got back up and dusted himself off. "I think."

"What the hell happened?" Ellie tried to reach him but he was too far down. Another ten feet and maybe she could grab his hand, maybe if she could find a stick? "Hold on! I'm gonna look for something to pull you back up!"

"That'd help! Thanks." Rylan called back as he examined his surroundings.

It was dark, real dark. But Rylan was able to make out the hole he was in and it seemed to go on and on, like a tunnel or something... wait a sec! "It looks like a mine shaft!"

"What?"

He was right! Whatever they were digging for down here, it certainly looked like what you would expect. There were some stray broken lanterns off to the side and to his surprise he landed on some tracks for a cart which would wheel out the spoils.

All we needed now was the seven dwarves...

"I can't find anything!" Ellie shouted.

"It's fine. We'll figure something out..." Then Rylan's heart then stopped.

**Play The Last of Us OST- Infected.**

_*Click Click Click GROAAH?*_

"Shit!" He whispered when his eyes fell on the tunnel in front of him. "Shit shit shit…"

Ellie felt helpless when she realized who was in Rylan's company. "Clickers..."

Old miners probably, the mangled fungal faces came into view as three Clickers wandered out of the nearby tunnel and looked around for the source of the sounds.

Rylan had to use their blindness to his advantage as he armed himself with his crossbow and gave Ellie a glare, putting his finger to his lips in a shushing motion.

He took aim at the nearest Clicker, he really needed some headshots.

SWOOSH!

His arrow embedded itself in the back of its head, killing it and the other two Clickers roared in rage as they heard their buddy fall dead.

Now they knew they weren't alone, and the fact that the collapsed ceiling did possibly give them a new host to infect.

But not today...

SWOOSH!

Rylan had pierced the chest of the second Clicker and it screamed in pain from the arrow but it wasn't dead... and it knew where the attack came from.

Dammit reload!

The Clicker must have sent a message to his last fellow buddy because both of them were lunging and lashing out towards Rylan!

He fired his next arrow and he killed the second one! But the last Clicker was inches away from him!

Rylan did the only thing he could think of as he swung his crossbow across and clubbed the creature, it staggered but it was still coming, even angrier than before!

But that was when Ellie jumped down and landed on the Clicker, her weight and switchblade being its end as she jammed the steel into its neck and the clicking stopped...

"Fuckers don't know when to quit..." Ellie wiped the blood soaked blade on her jeans and put it away.

"I had him." Rylan stated flatly as he motioned towards his hunting knife and slung his crossbow over his back. "Now how are we both getting out of here?"

"Oh, you're fucking welcome by the way." Ellie scoffed. "I did just save your life."

"I didn't need saving." Rylan grimaced. "And I don't need you endangering yourself for me."

"Look don't be a dick, this is the definition of working together, this is what we agreed on so don't say shit like that, alright?" Ellie made a very strong point and she could tell that this made Rylan feel bad.

He sighed. "...Alright. I'm sorry. Really I am. But this is a two-way street; you have to trust me to get the job done. And I promise to let you know when I need help. So let's just get rid of your seniority thing, just partners." And that was an equally important point.

Ellie let out a slight smile as she turned on her flashlight attached to her backpack, as did he. "Glad we understand each other."

Rylan returned the smile. "Good. ...The hole up there is too high to boost you back up, and I don't see any random ladders around here... so looks like we have to march through there."

He pointed at the black tunnel before them, their only possible exit and yeah, it looked like a walk in the park...

"We digging for gold?" Ellie joked.

"More like digging for mold." Rylan joked back which made the girl giggle.

"Good one."

"Watch my back."

Rylan had his crossbow at the ready while Ellie had her gun out and her switchblade in a sort of little girl commando position while they were descending deeper and deeper into the tunnel. They had not even walked for more than a minute when Rylan yelped at the haze of speckles that came into their view.

"Shit, spores!" Rylan had already put on his gas-mask when Ellie shined her light on him.

Oh man... what was she going to do?

"Rylan..."

"Ellie what are you doing?! Get your mask on!" Rylan barked.

"Um... I don't have one..." Ellie was contemplating how she was going to explain this.

"What do you mean you don't have one?" It didn't make any sense. "Everyone has one, every smart survivor."

Ellie backed away a little as she tensed up. "Yeah... I don't need one. I'm... immune."

"What? Ellie, we're done making jokes now me. I'm serious, get your mask on and-!"

"I'm really immune Rylan..." She pushed her sleeve back and revealed the bite on her arm. "I can breathe all the spores I want and nothing happens..."

How was he going to react?

"...You're infected?" His eyes went wide as she could see through the gas-mask.

"Yeah. Surprise..." Ellie tried to laugh it off just waiting for his response.

Would he think she's crazy? Would he kill her?

Either way the spores floated towards their personal space and Rylan watched as Ellie calmly breathed in the infected spore-filled air through her nostrils and breathed back out like nothing was wrong...

Rylan turned away from her and motioned her to follow him. "...Let's just keep moving."

Well she didn't expect that, maybe he would talk to her about it later? Probably. "Gotcha."

A few minutes later the tunnel came out into what looked like the foyer of mine shafts would represent because they could see daylight! Sweet sweet daylight!

"Can't believe there were only three Clickers down here... oh fuck me..." Rylan had peered around the last corner and quickly drew back.

"What is it?"

"There's a damn Bloater guarding the exit out there..." Rylan informed her. "We don't have shit to take it down neither..."

"We could try to lure it away?" Ellie suggested.

"Too risky. He's in a narrow corridor and we have no way to get around him."

"Well, this is just great..." Ellie leaned back on box which opened and unhinged from her weight. "Oh!"

"What's up?"

She dug through its contents and picked something out of it. "Well this work?" Ellie gave a mischievous smirk when she presented him with a stick of dynamite.

Rylan chuckled as he took the stick. "This'll definitely make a hell of a lot of noise, but we're low on options as it is. Grab a few more of those though, just in case."

"Aye aye." Ellie saluted as she put five more sticks of dynamite in her backpack. "You got matches or something?"

Rylan took out a Zippo lighter and was about to light the fuse. "Hope this doesn't blow up the entrance and... you know, trap us."

Ellie hoped for some good fortune. "Cross your fingers."

"I would use them to cover your ears."

The fuse was sparkling and it was quickly getting shorter and shorter as he tossed it around the corner and the stick rolled down right at the Bloater's mushroom-encrusted feet. The huge brute stupidly looked down at the object and then...

BOOM!

The explosion reverberated throughout the entire mine! Covering the ears was good advice as the noise nearly deafened the two kids!

When it was over, Rylan looked back around the corner to find the Bloater over there... and over there... and a little bit on the ceiling... "It worked! Damn that was lucky... and stupid."

"Come on, let's get the hell out of here!" Ellie was already ahead of him as they both made a beeline for the exit.

Soon, the sun wrapped both of them in warmth and comfort as they finally made it back outside. They must have been in there for longer than they thought because the sun was already setting in the West.

"Fresh air! We should find a spot to camp for the night." Rylan stretched his arms out while taking off his gas-mask, still barely believing he lit a stick of dynamite to blow up a Bloater.

Ellie pointed towards the mountain, she had a pretty decent idea of where they were now. "We actually made some distance, we're about halfway around."

"Look, you see that? Over there." Rylan pointed at what looked like a station about have a kilometer away. "Probably did the business side of the mine in that place right there."

"Let's check it out." Ellie agreed.

They both made their way towards the building in a few minutes; it looked like a two-story red bricked office place. The windows were boarded up and there was a message written in red spray paint on the only door.

It read: ONLY GOD CAN SAVE US.

"You religious?" Rylan inquired.

"Not really no." Ellie replied. "You?"

"Not since..." He trailed off. "Never mind. I'll cover you, open it up."

Rylan held the crossbow at the ready, and Ellie nervously placed her hand on the doorknob.

It was unlocked...

She opened the door fully and both of them were completely and utterly shocked at what was inside...

"Oh my god..."

* * *

**A/N- Cliffhanger! Sort of a shorter chapter than usual, but I wanted to stop here.**

**What did Ellie and Rylan find in this building? How do you guys like them as a team? What is Devlin planning on next? And what could Devlin and Tommy be remembering?**

**Next chapter will campaign Joel, Brad, and Claire and will run parallel to what happened in this chapter.**

**Find out next time on The Last of Us II! Keep up the reviews, favs, and follows! :)**


	5. Chapter 5: The Frightful Farm

**Chapter 5: The Frightful Farm**

**A/N- I would like to thank Plania for drawing the new cover image of this story, it's of Rylan and Ellie and it's awesome, take a look! :) And by the way, updating wise I want to get you guys two chapters a week, but we'll see, you never know so thank you all for your patience! Let's get to it! :)**

* * *

Rylan held the crossbow at the ready, and Ellie nervously placed her hand on the doorknob.

It was unlocked...

She opened the door fully and both of them were completely and utterly shocked at what was inside...

Ellie made a sharp gasp while Rylan had his mouth hanging open. "Oh my god..."

*reegh? RRAGH! RAGGH!*

There before the two teens on the far wall was what was left of a human being turned Runner snarling and growling above a pool of its own blood and crucified to a giant wooden Cross behind him...

"Guess he's not running anywhere..." Ellie broke the silence as she entered the building. "You still going to cover me?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. I got you." Rylan followed her inside as he closed the door behind him.

There was still enough light entering through the cracks of the windows to partially leave the room moderately lit. First of all, there was a staircase on their right which led to the second floor and other than that; the hall was completely cleaned out, barely even any dust, although there were a few foldaway chairs lying around.

"Looks like a little makeshift church..." Ellie observed.

"They were here to pray..." Rylan then examined the small messages written in blood on the wall from verses of the Holy Bible: Leviticus, Psalms, Matthew, and etc.

The two of them then approached the crucified Runner, it still struggling to no avail trying to infect them with the spikes in its hands and ankles holding firm. "And they just left him here... to die like this..."

"He was bit." Rylan pointed towards his neck. "See? He was going to turn, and I guess..."

"Must have been real religious..." Ellie nodded. "Hardcore."

Without further ado, Rylan aimed his crossbow at the Runner's head and fired, quickly and effectively silencing him. Rylan then pulled the arrow back out and counted that he had only seven arrows left.

"Should we get him down?" Ellie asked. "Put him outside so he doesn't spore up the place?"

"I'll do it." Rylan volunteered. "Can you check upstairs by yourself?"

"I think I can handle it."

* * *

_Earlier that Day..._

"I spy with my little eye... something that is green!" Claire smiled.

Joel rubbed his eyes in annoyance and let out a loud sigh. "I don't wanna play."

"I'll play sweetie." Brad interjected and guessed. "The grass?"

"No..." She playfully nudged him. "Try again."

"The trees?"

"Nope."

"Could we not do this, please?" Joel had to stop them. "I Spy ain't exactly what I had in mind."

The three of them were walking through the same seemingly endless forest where they had to abandon the motorcycle from hours ago. Luckily, Brad had his special explorer's compass, small, golden, and with an engraving, so he knew exactly which direction to go for Joel. They would probably be able to make it to the cabin by tomorrow night.

"Well then, what do you think we should do to pass the time?" Claire inquired.

"I don't know. Ever play the quiet game? Just listening to nature or something." Joel suggested to them.

"How about we talk about each other?" Brad proposed.

Oh god... Guess it's better to know the people you're traveling with. Rather than another painful game of I Spy. "Sure, I reckon we can do that."

"Okay. Where are you from Joel?" Claire got on the offensive.

"Before everything, I lived in Texas. You know Austin much?" Joel responded.

"No, but I had a cousin in Dallas." Brad happily replied. "Claire and I both grew up in the St. Louis Quarantine Zone."

"Yeah. How was that?"

"It uh..." He looked saddened. "Wasn't good, our group tried to get out when the whole city was compromised... but..."

"You don't have to explain." Joel stopped him; he knew this chain of events all too well. "I would have been surprised if you both had a good story."

"Joel..." Claire piped up. "Brad and I always had each other... we always trusted each other... can we trust you?"

Joel stopped walking and turned towards them. "You really bringing this up? I ain't forcing you to follow me; you can leave whenever it suits your fancy."

"It's just that... you seem very guarded with us." Claire addressed to him. "No matter what you did in the past, it's the past. And we won't judge you for it."

Brad chimed in with another grin. "You chose to save us. That's how we know you're a good man."

"...Why you both always smiling?" This was the question he really wanted to ask. "How are you so damn happy?"

"Because we have each other." Claire declared as she wrapped an arm around her fiancé.

Now that hit Joel right in his chest. These relationships, these special bonds we have with other people... they're what drive us forward; they're partly why we still keep fighting...

Joel suddenly remembered Ellie and then Tess, Tommy and Maria... Sarah...

Brad brought him back to reality. "Joel... do you know why they say life has to be so cruel?"

Joel shook his head. "Because that's just the way it is now."

Claire answered. "...It's so that we can learn to cherish the things that really matter."

...

... How do you respond to something like that?

After another moment of silence, Joel conceded. "Let's keep going you two. We still got a long hike ahead of us." He turned back and continued walking.

"Right behind you, boss!" They both nodded.

The three of them had finally come out of the forest and found that they were on the edge of some sort of farm. It reminded Joel of the Ranch where Ellie ran to from Jackson... and he and Tommy followed her on horses. That was a real pain...

"We should check inside and look for supplies." Joel advised to them. "You two look like you're carrying light..."

"We could spend the night and keep going in the morning." Brad stated.

"Why don't we just settle here?" Claire asked.

Joel was nervous, they don't even know if this place was safe yet. "No, we'll just cut through the barn here and then search that house for now."

The old man stepped on the bottom half of the outer barbed wire and lifted the top half up to leave a big enough opening for the young couple to climb through into the field. Joel soon followed through and the first stop was the big red barn in front of them.

"Stay alert, get your guns out." Joel ordered as they both pulled out pistols while he got his rifle out.

**Play The Last of Us OST- Convergence**

The three of them approached the barn and oddly enough the sun began to hide behind some clouds, taking away some of its warmth and leaving a chill up their spines.

Joel told the two to cover them while he held his ear up to the door to listen for any noise...

*grooah...*

"Damn..." He whispered and told them to shush and to follow him.

Since there was Infected coming from inside the barn, they decided it was too risky to guess the numbers and just open up the big wooden doors and possibly meet their deaths. So they played the smart route for now, and they flanked the whole structure and headed straight to the house.

It was a nice large two-story farm house painted in a peach color and it had a stone foundation. They walked up the front porch while they checked if anyone was home.

"I'm going around and checking the back door, you two go through here." Joel indicated with his gun at the front door. "We'll sweep through the place faster, check your corners."

Brad and Claire nodded in confirmation as the former made his move on the front door while Joel headed around the back at a jogging pace. Soon, he found a screen door which led inside. He opened it and found himself in perhaps a laundry or mud room.

Keeping alert, Joel checked every inch of the house that he came across, the laundry then the kitchen then the dining and living rooms. He noticed the front door wide open and decided to close it shut, thinking that the two of them were already searching the second floor.

BANG!

"Shit!" Joel instinctively ducked and found cover until he noticed that the gunshot came from upstairs which he was already climbing up to.

The wallpaper was blue with white patterns, and at the top of the stairwell the wide hallway turned to the right, and he noticed a few wooden dressers and side tables along the way. Peering around the corner, Joel saw three doors on his right and one on his left.

The second door on the right was wide open...

And he could see the back of Claire's hair from his angle, she seemed like she wasn't moving a muscle.

"What are they doing?" Joel wondered as he moved up.

Surprisingly, he could hear a woman's crying coming from the open room, but it did not sound like Claire as she was still at the door.

When Joel came around the side and entered the bedroom next to Claire, he was almost speechless at the scene before him...

There was a mother... clutching her small child in her arms... crying... sobbing... almost hysterical in the corner of the bedroom.

"Shhh... shh... it's okay… it's all over now..." The Mother whispered to the limp boy like she was holding on for dear life.

"Miss?" Brad was hesitant but he held out his hand, still on edge. "...We're here to help you now."

The Mother only spared the young man and his two companions a second's glace and then her eyes fell back on her son as she stroked his hair with her bloody fingers. "You can't..."

Claire informed Joel of the situation. "We were searching the house when we heard the gunshot from in here... that's when we found her…"

Joel quickly deduced. "Her boy was bit..." Another child lost to this world that could be mistaken for hell... "She couldn't let him turn..."

No mother or parent should ever have to experience this... losing your kids... Joel could relate.

Brad was still hopeful but cautious eyeing the firearm still in her right hand. "Miss? What's your name? Do you think you could give me the gun?"

The Mother took in a sharp gasp and sobbed some more. "It doesn't matter anymore... I gave him my last bullet... but I..."

She then dropped her gun and moved her hand to the collar of her shirt and pulled it away revealing a bite of her own...

Claire gasped. "Oh my god..."

"We were both bit... trying to trap those... monsters in the barn out there..." She explained. "I waited for as long as I could... but then..."

Brad turned back to Joel for advice, looking for some sort of answer to this situation. He merely shook his head hopelessly, but then the mother suddenly caught their attention in a different tone of voice... almost happy.

"You have guns..." She begged. "Can I borrow one? Just one bullet? Please...? I have nothing left and I... I want to be with him," She motioned towards her son. "... my family..."

"We can't let you do that to yourself!" Brad was in disbelief seeing as she wanted to take the easy way out. "We'll get you some help! We'll-!"

"Brad..." Joel stopped him. He knew all too well that these people just had to go, they just needed to be at rest... suffering would do no good for them. "You and Claire step outside for a moment..."

"Joel-!" Brad was outraged but before he could protest further Claire silenced him.

"Come on... we can't help her." She sadly stated as she led her fiancé out of the bedroom, closing the door behind them.

Joel then put away his rifle and pulled out his pistol for a quick and clean mercy kill, and he aimed the gun right at her head silently agreeing to do the deed himself. She then began to sing a lullaby to her son... gently rocking him back and forth against the wall...

"Hush little baby, don't say a word..." She smiled and continued crying, mouthing Joel a 'thank you'. "Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird..."

Her words began to echo in Joel's mind...

"And if that mockingbird won't sing... *sob* ...Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring..."

Joel could hear whispering and protests from Brad and Claire on the other side of the door... they were arguing...

Joel had to put an end to this misery, and set her free...

"And if that diamond ring turns brass, *sob* *sniffle* ...Mama's gonna buy you a looking glas-!"

BANG!

Her lullaby had ended... and her body fell limp to the floor, right next to her boy's...

Joel had been holding his breath the entire time and he finally exhaled, letting out a groan and rubbing his face in angst...

He slowly turned around and opened the door to see a white-faced Brad and Claire, looking shocked at what he had done, only for the shock to disappear and for sadness and pity to take their places.

The three of them stood silent in the hallway for a while now until Brad broke it. "I forgot... how horribly wrong things can get..."

Claire nodded. "We were lucky honey... to be living in Jackson... and now we're back out here, in the wild..."

Joel grumbled. "We should search the rest of the house for..." And then he saw out the hallway window, facing right at the barn. "Oh shit!"

The three of them watched as the barn doors were smashed open and at least a dozen Runners or so ran out in full sprint heading straight towards the house!

"I got the window!" Joel ordered as he handed Claire was of his homemade Nail Bombs. "Take this! Put that at the bottom of the stairs, and then help him move the dresser to block this hallway!"

She complies wholeheartedly by taking the nail bomb and tossing it down the stairs. Joel made his way to the window while taking out his rife. He shot and killed only one Runner while counting them all before they were too close to the house.

Joel spun around and saw that the tall chest-high dresser was in place and he ran and hopped over it, joining Brad and Claire with all of their guns out, pointing them at the stairwell.

Joel had his rifle ready, so it was time for the three of them to make a stand. "I counted at least 20 now. Count your bullets."

"Right." Claire understood seeing she had a full clip.

"We got you." Brad affirmed.

The screaming and growling was prevalent in their ears now so that they could here thumping and thundering from the floor below.

BOOM!

The Nail Bomb went off at the bottom of the stairs, killing three and injuring one. They were mad now, and they were determined. The stairs thundered as they came into their view and the three survivors began firing shots at the Infected.

Three then four then five more! They were covering each other as each of them reloaded, doing their best to conserve their ammunition.

They lost track on how many bodies fell dead by the top stair when all three of the guns clicked. All three were out of ammo from the weapons they were using! That was when two Runners made a break for it and they didn't even tumble over the bodies as they dived across the dresser and tackled Brad and Claire to the ground!

Using brute strength, Joel ran then grabbed the head of the Runner on top of Claire and smashed his knee into its skull then into the adjacent wall, pulverizing it and saving her.

Joel then spun around and pulled his second sidearm, the revolver from his second holster, and fired two shots into the Runner's body which is what finally ended the threat...

Brad pushed them off, and the three of them were all panting as silenced enveloped the house once more...

Joel finally caught his breath; he really was getting too old. "Everybody alright?"

Brad clutched his chest and neck, instinctively checking for bites. "I think so. Thanks."

"Thank you, Joel." Claire echoed.

They both got to their feet and saw the full carnage that they had done, about a full staff of farm hands and family members lied dead in the hallway before them... and it was already beginning to smell...

Claire shuddered at the gnarly odor, "On second thought, maybe we shouldn't stay here for the night..."

"...Maybe we'll find some higher ground around here to rest up." Joel responded as he moved the dresser back up against the wall and headed downstairs. "Check the bodies for any more ammo; I'll go pack up some food if they have any."

"This was way too close for comfort." Brad gagged as he patted down the dead Runners. "Who knows what heard all of those gunshots?"

"Then it's best to speed things up and listen to Joel, he saved our lives twice now." Claire reminded him. "We have to show him we're not just extra baggage, I have a feeling that he thinks we are."

"Then let's change that from now on." Brad quipped. "But he is tough to compete with. He's like a freaking one-man army or something..."

Soon the two of them found all the ammunition they could and they walked past the bedroom with the mother and child in there with sorrowful expressions and met Joel downstairs in the kitchen.

"We good?" He was waiting for them, must not have had a lot of food in there.

"Let's go." They all agreed.

And the three of them left the Farmhouse filled with dead Infected, and they re-entered the forest heading towards the mountain where the cabin resided.

Just another isolated incident, in this case a farm full of infected, during the apocalypse...

* * *

**A/N- Had to check in with Joel, Brad, and Claire right? ****The optimistic couple thrown back into the wild with Joel as their guide. What other obstacles will they have to face next? Will Joel find Ellie soon?**

******How would you have dealt with the mother? Give her the gun? Or shoot her yourself? Just curious...**

**Until next chapter! R****eview, fav, follow, and etc.**


	6. Chapter 6: Quality Time

**Chapter 6: Quality Time**

**Play the Last of Us OST Together on a second tab.**

* * *

Rylan finally pulled out the spikes in the dead Runner's wrists and ankles and the body fell to floor with a thud! He grabbed its arms and dragged it out at a modest pace, so in about a minute he threw the body outside, closed the door, and locked the dusty deadbolt behind him.

"Better check on her upstairs..." Rylan mumbled seeing as there was nothing left on the first floor.

He climbed the stairs and found the only other door slightly ajar to the second floor. When he opened it, he was disappointed to see that it as bare as the first floor, although there was no writing on the wall here. The only thing furniture wise that was there was a bookshelf on the ground by the adjacent wall which Ellie was checking out.

"Find anything?" He asked.

Ellie grunted flipping the bookcase on its side and she positioned herself so that she could push it. "Help me move this up against the door. We'll spend the night up here."

"Yeah that'll work." Rylan agreed as he set his backpack and crossbow down and assisted her with blocking the exit.

They put their combined weights into the shelf as they pushed it with only moderate drag. The shelf scraped across the floor until they put it up against the door so that it could not be opened from the other side, safe enough they supposed. With that job quickly done, Ellie settled down and put her stuff next to Rylan's when the guy's eyes caught something unusual back where the bookshelf was lying flat.

"You see that?" Rylan questioned as he walked over and picked up the item. "It's a bottle."

"A bottle of what?"

Rylan grinned. "It's a full bottle of wine... they must have missed this when the group was packing up." He looked it over in his hands. "I guess they would have used it for communions or something like that."

"Wine? Like alcohol?" Ellie remembered. "Whenever Joel or I found that stuff, we would save it for Molotovs."

"You don't use wine for Molotovs though, it doesn't work." Rylan smirked as he playfully read and shook the bottle, made in 2013. "You drink it with friends, and it's supposedly better than the disgusting liquor that adults drink."

"...You can go right ahead," Ellie declined as she made her blanket to sleep on. "I think I'll pass."

Rylan frowned as he opened the bottle; it was conveniently just a screw top, so no cork. He held the opening beneath his nose and took a sniff... smelled alright.

Ellie sat up against the wall cross-legged on her blanket as she watched Rylan take the first gulp of red wine straight from the bottle. "Ngg... not that bad actually..."

Rylan put the wine on the ground while he set up his blanket a few feet away and parallel to Ellie's. The redhead eyed him curiously as he sat across from her comfortably with the bottle in his hand. Then they both noticed that the sun had gone down, and the moonlight and the night sky had already taken its place as it illuminated the room they were in.

The stuffy hot feeling that they got as they entered the building was replaced with a more relaxed temperature with the absence of the bothersome summer sun. But through the cracks of the boarded up windows they could tell this would be a much cooler night. So they'll rest easily here until dawn would come, and they would set out again.

Ellie looked at him with peculiar eyes. He said it wasn't liquor like that stuff Winston had and Riley had offered her that one time. She never did have wine now that she thought of it. "...Can I try some? Just a taste."

"Change your mind?" Rylan let slip a sly smirk as he more than happily offered the bottle to her which she tentatively took. He watched as Ellie put her lips to the top and filled her mouth up with the dark liquid. Coughing after she managed to swallow, she did have to admit it was better than anything else she ever drank experimentally.

"I've got a proposition for you..." She piped up which made him snap his eyes from the bottle in her hand back to her. "...How about we ask each other any questions we want? The other one has to answer honestly...The only catch is, for every question you ask... you take another drink."

"Huh... alright, you're on." Rylan grinned as he took the bottle from her competitively and took another mouthful. He let out a loud sigh trying to find the right inquiry. "Okay... you say you're immune, how'd you do it?"

Ellie looked at him with a questioning look. "What do you mean how? I just am. ...Got bit and didn't turn... see?" She rolled up her sleeve and revealed the aged bite on her arm which his eyes widened at.

"Wow..." He sighed as he looked her. "Tch... That's... that's not fair..."

"You're fucking right it's not... I'm still waiting for my turn..."

"You got another chance... but still, I really can't imagine it... you..." And then he stopped himself before he could ask another question and gave the bottle back to her. "Your turn."

"Okay..." Ellie accepted and got a couple sips by knocking it back. "Tell me, how'd you get out of Jackson?"

"Really? Out of all the questions you could have asked-"

"That's what I want to know. How'd did you escape those Fireflies? I had to leave you at the bottom of the cliff with those soldiers shooting at me."

Rylan rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Uh... those guys passed over me thinking I was dead or something, and I woke up a little later and ran back to my place... got all of my supplies and just slipped passed them. ...But I did bribe one of the guards with some extra deer meat I had." He smirked. "He was a big guy who couldn't say no to the extra food, so he let me go, hehe."

"Right..." Ellie took another few sips to follow up with another question. Her cheeks began to feel real hot... "So tell me then what's your story?"

"My story? ...Like my life story?" He asked. "You mean before Jackson?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "The whole thing."

"Well... alright but this is a long one so..." Rylan began to explain. "My parents and I came from a Quarantine Zone from the East Coast... I don't remember the name of the city... I was too young to remember... So after that they decided to head out West... thinking it would be better. I had a little brother... but he died..." He frowned at that especially. "...It was just me and my mom and my dad just the three of us..."

Ellie was attentive; she was listening to every word. "Go on..."

He scoffed. "We found this big group in an old town here in the mountains, my dad proved real valuable to them real quick, you know? ... And he got a seat on their council..."

"So you settled there for a while. You and your parents." Ellie confirmed, careful not to state it as a question.

"We were there for more than a few years and... everything seemed fine for a while." Rylan covered his mouth when remembered what had happened next. "...But last year, everyone lost their minds! Everything began going to shit!"

Rylan grabbed the bottle out of Ellie's hand and he forced himself to fill his mouth up with more wine while he struggled to swallow it. His mouth was real dry after that as he continued the story. "I'm sorry... I just..." He gently gave the bottle back to her which she kindly accepted. "It was just a really bad experience."

"...We've all had bad experiences." Ellie sympathetically replied. "If it hurts too much... then don't worry about it..."

After a long pause Rylan declared this before cutting the tale of his past for now. "My parents, they both died... trying to be human... trying to care for others... for me."

Ellie reached out and placed her warm hand across his and with a consoling smile. "I'm sorry. I'm sure they would have been proud of you now." She earned a nod from him and they decided tot move on and lighten the mood a little as she took another gulp herself. "I need to catch up to you anyway."

Rylan perked his ears up to that and shrugged off any bad memories he had left remaining, trying to stay in this moment instead. "...Finally in the spirit of the game?"

Ellie was beginning to feel a little... loopy at the moment. She laughed thinking this would get the boy in front of her out of his funk. "You said you're 16 right? So... ever kiss a girl before?"

That question definitely caught Rylan off guard. But he looked away from her for a moment Why? Was he afraid? Embarrassed? "No. I never really had time for that."

"I was just curious, that's all." She smirked.

Rylan smiled and joked back. "Ellie you're drunk! Go to sleep!"

Ellie faked wailed to keep the comedy going. "No! I don't wanna go to sleep, I'm not even tired. Please don't make me!" Damn, she's was a little bit of a lightweight.

"Then give back that bottle and let me ask you another one." Rylan held out his hand which she was more than happy to give back. He quickly took another mouthful and wiped his lips off with his sleeve. In the haziness of his thoughts, he let his mind wander to certain other things. "Ellie... you ever kiss a guy before?"

"Uh... nope." Ellie deviously smiled. "Not a guy..."

Not a guy? What did she mean like tha-! Then it clicked. "Wait! ...Did you... did you kiss a girl before?"

She blushed at that comment; her face by itself gave it away. Rylan followed that up. "Wow, that's hot." For whatever reason, he approved of that but then his face became sullen once more. "So... you're not interested in guys?"

"That's another question, so come on!" She giggled motioning for him to drink which he did. "...She was just someone real special to me... but then..." She remembered that fateful day where she had that awesome time in the mall with her, how they laughed, how they danced... how they both got bit... and how Riley had to be left behind.

"You must have really liked her... Listen to me whining and complaining about my life... You probably had it a lot tougher than I ever did... Seriously." Rylan sighed again. "Hell... this is fucking bullshit..."

"Took the words right out of my mouth." She nodded until she felt a pang in her chest. "Hey Rylan?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you care that I'm Infected?" Ellie almost shied away. "I mean, do you see me any differently?"

"...I do see you differently, yeah, I kind of have to." Rylan had to be honest about that. "...But I still think you're too pretty to even be Infected though..." Both of their eyes widened in embarrassment. "...No no no, I didn't mean it like that! It's just the wine talking."

"Oh so you don't think I'm fucking pretty?" Ellie pouted crossed her arms after she took back the wine bottle and nearly finished the whole thing.

"No, I do. You're fucking drop-dead gorgeous, honest!" Rylan proclaimed before he could stop himself. "...Don't ever think otherwise."

She froze herself at his words and she calmed her demeanor, feeling that she could relax again. "You're just saying that..."

"Just take the damn compliment and at least know that I think you're... cute."

Ellie copied his joke and used it on him now. "Rylan, you're too drunk. Go to sleep!" And then surprisingly he flipped her off and then they both laughed over the flirty banter. "But really... thanks."

"Don't mention it."

They had a few more questions in them, casual stuff instead. What's your favorite season, colors, hobbies another than puns and hunting. Turns out they actually had a lot in common.

But after that, their little conversation was starting to die down, so they decided to take a break from this little back and forth that they had and just enjoy some silence for a while. Both of them realized that they were pretty tipsy at the moment; Rylan had seen that Ellie had enough and took back the bottle, seeing that it was almost completely empty. He grabbed the last few sips and finally tossed the wine aside, their game was over.

"So... that was super duper fucking fun..." Ellie slurred her words as she yawned which morphed into a chuckle. "...I see why some people really do like to drink that stuff..."

"We shouldn't make it a habit though." Rylan added. "...And it is getting late."

"Yeah. You're right... Tch..."

"What is it?"

"I just met you this morning and I... Just that a lot has happened today." Ellie decided to lie down on her blanket laying on her back while Rylan did the same on his blanket but he propped himself up on his elbow facing her. "I wish Joel was here..."

"I'm sure he feels the same. Don't worry, we'll find him at that cabin you mentioned alright? ...And uh, Ellie?"

"Yeah?"

Rylan made a gulping noise and she could tell that he looked really nervous. "...Can I kiss you goodnight?" The question was completely unexpected. Rylan's eyes widen at the same time his cheeks bloom into red. She could see his face even in the dark; whether or not it was the wine that loosened him up... hell they were both pretty drunk by this point. "Oh shit... that sounded a lot less desperate in my head... never mi-"

Ellie mirrored his position as she propped herself on her elbow as well facing him to take a better look after his brown eyes calmed themselves from the shock of his own question. Was he regretting his own words? He probably can't believe it, and neither can she that he just asked that. Ellie realized that she was staring at him without giving him an answer, wrapping a rope around his hopes and about to let them hang and linger. He could die tomorrow... they both could die tomorrow, they didn't know... And if he liked her...

So that was when Ellie opened curved her lips into a sly grin, but it was a subdued one, she had to play it somewhat cool. That smile asked him. "I don't know... _can_ you?"

Never would she consider this if she didn't have that fun fuzzy feeling in her head, or the flushed cheeks or the happiness she had emanating from her body. But now her sassy response must have cheered him up because he was already leaning in halfway between them, nervous but daring her to reconsider in silence.

Ellie swallows in dry and now using her hands as support, she leaned forward towards him. They both almost flinch when their noses began touching, their combined experience with this sort of thing minimal at best.

The tragic thought crossed her mind that she would infect him with the kiss, but then it came to her mind that it didn't work like that. Bites infected others by breaking the skin and getting into the blood. So... there was no problem here, no blood.

These two teens had it hard... something they barely called a childhood taken away from them in the world. Even though they didn't know each other's deepest secrets, the fact that the Fireflies are after Ellie and that Rylan is still guarded with whatever happened to him and his parents, they were happy with each other... at least for that moment... They could feel for this moment, and enjoy it like a little burning candle lighting up the darkness of the night.

That was when their lips met, dry purple lips stained by the drink they were sharing. Heat was waving off of both of them as they kept their eyes shut to commemorate this bliss and have the rest of the world melt away for just a minute...

Was this moment real though? Or was it a drunken mistake?

No... It would never work in the long run. For more reasons than one... they didn't know yet.

And that was when they simultaneously broke apart, trying to catch their breath and keep their hearts from fluttering away... "I'm not going to wake up with mushrooms on my lips, am I?"

Ellie chuckled. "Fuck you Rylan..." And then it hit her. "Fuck... why'd we do that? Why did I-"

"...It's my fault, okay?" He somberly stated. "...I just... I don't know... look we were both..." No they just needed to go to sleep, no use talking about it now. "I think we should call it a night."

Ellie agreed and promised herself that they would both talk about it in the morning when they were more clearheaded. "Okay. Goodnight." She turned away sleeping so that her back was facing him.

"Sweet dreams, Ellie."

...

...

_"You think you know me?! You have no idea of what I'm capable of!"_

* * *

**A/N- ****It's the apocalypse, you live everyday like it's your last. Connections are so important because if you're just surviving just to survive, then what's the point? You need to have people you can trust, even with your life.**

**Of what is to be for our heroes in the next chapter?**

**Until next time. :)**


	7. Chapter 7: The Crossing

**Chapter 7: The Crossing**

**A/N-I sincerely apologize about the lateness of this update, I've been busy... but I hope this makes up for it, enjoy! :)**

* * *

"_You think you know me?! You have no idea of what I'm capable of!"_

_Ellie struggled with all of her might as the vile monster on top of him began strangling her! She couldn't breathe and her only hope was to reach for that machete which was only inches away from her right hand. The smell of burning wood and the suffocating smoke added to the fact that she could barely see. Her vision of the fucking animal David on top of her with an expression of frustration and rage, she knew what he was going to do... he was going to-! Where the hell was that machete?!_

_It was gone... she couldn't find it... and he just continued his assault on her... and ripped through..._

Ellie shot up flailing around to put an end to her horrible nightmare. "Don't fucking touch me!"

" *cough* *retch* *cough* ...Ellie?" Rylan was in the corner of the room throwing up for some reason. He was standing up while resting his hands on his knees trying to compose himself. He spit a little more and went back to the redhead who quickly realized she was awake. "You have a bad dream?"

"No!" Ellie hissed. "I always fucking wake up like this!"

"Sorry... I didn't exactly sleep like a baby either..." His eyes shamefully wandered to the corner where his vomit had been spit up. "... I had a bad wake up call."

"Gross, why'd you puke? You sick or something?" Ellie was disgusted as she began packing her things, the slight throbbing of her head now being noticed while she rolled up her blanket and put it into her backpack.

Rylan sadly informed her. "No I just had a nightmare too... and I remembered something..."

"Well what the hell kind of dream makes you throw up?" She winced at the slight scent of bile that invaded her nose; they had to get some fresh air.

The sun was shining again, and it was beginning to heat up the interior of the building they were in. Rylan walked over to peer through a crack between the wooden boards on the windows to see if anyone was around. Luckily from his field of vision, it looked like the coast was clear. "One of the worst kind... we should get moving, Ellie."

She was all ready to go and attempting to push the shelf out of the way. "Then help me with the damn door already." He nodded and joined her in unblocking their exit.

In mere minutes, they were out the front door of their temporary shelter. The sun was clouded, and the air was humid, There were also some more meancing and foreboding clouds in the distance coming around the mountain from the North. "It might rain later..."

Ellie affirmed as they began walking. "Let's keep moving... hey," She turned towards him to address a potential serious issue. "Are we going to talk about last night?"

Rylan glanced at her, slightly blushing at the foggy memory of their lips meeting. "What's there to talk about?"

"You better goddamn know." She quipped it right back to him with a smirk with a glint of anger in his teasing. He merely laughed her off and poked her right on her little nose. She quickly swatted him away and pushed him back playfully. "Jerk..."

"Princess."

"Hey! I'm no princess!" Ellie chuckled. "If anything, you're the princess..."

"I thought I was a jerk?"

"Princess Jerk." Ellie dubbed with a smile.

Rylan shook his head. "That's not going to stick. ...How about...?"

They made it down a hill and rounded around a huge tree to have their ears filled with the sound of running water. And sure enough there was a river blocking their way to the path of the cabin needed to get to. The river looked deep and there were some mean-looking rapids, making it treacherous to cross. Beyond that was a farm full of crops with a few canals running through its field. Maybe they used irrigation from the river to water the crops over there?

"Oh shit..." Ellie said as the two of them came to the river's edge. "...Did I forget to mention that I can't swim?"

"...Wait what?" Rylan raised an eyebrow. "You can't swim? Then how are you getting across?"

"I don't know. Do you see any wooden pallets lying around?" Remembering how Joel always got her across on one of those stupid things.

She looked around...

...and there were no wooden pallets...

Rylan scratched his head, thinking of any ideas. "Okay, we'll figure this out... you have any rope?"

"Uh yeah... let me just pull that outta my ass." She chided but then she asked. "Hey wait... can you swim?"

Rylan was still brainstorming, probably just shrugged off Ellie's last comment. "Huh what? Oh, just the doggie paddle. Not the strongest swimmer but..."

"Even dogs know how to swim better than me! ...You think you can teach me?" She excitedly asked while looking up and down the stream. "I don't see any other way to cross the river."

"Hmm... this isn't really the best place to practice." Rylan noticed a long stick on the ground next to him. He picked it up and kneeled down and stuck the stick in the river to get an idea of its depth. The stick's length would only go in halfway underwater. "...Looks like it'll only come up to our waists..."

"...I can manage that... kind of." Ellie shrugged her shoulders. "You going first or-"

Rylan had already slung his crossbow onto his back and he stepped into the water while he turned around and held out his hand to the redhead with a smirk. "Take my hand if you want live..."

"Tough choice..." Ellie returned the grin as she firmly grasped her hand with his and she jumped in.

* * *

The wind was beginning to pick up, signs of a rain in the later afternoon based off of the clouds in the far distance. The forest must have been well traveled by survivors, due to the dirt trodden paths seen on the ground among the green. And from what they could tell they were almost to their destination.

Brad reloaded his pistol and he sped up to walk next to Joel. "Hey man, I got an idea."

"What is it?" Joel grumbled thinking it would be another game.

But Brad surprisingly offered. "How about you let me go on ahead and I'll scout out the land for us?"

Joel turned his head towards him in annoyance. "What? ...That has got be the stu-"

Claire interjected to defend him. "I think it's a great idea. If things get too bad then he can just come back and warn us."

"...I can do this Joel..." He smiled as he pulled out his golden compass again. "East, right?"

Joel sighed in defeat, two against one he supposed. But the thing is he had doubts in not only Brad's, but Claire's survival abilities as well. They've been more of a hindrance than a help since they escaped Jackson. And when he reunited with Ellie, he didn't know what he would want them to do considering that they were technically fugitives of the Fireflies. But maybe, this was a chance to prove him wrong, maybe he needed to let him do this, to see if recon was really Brad's specialty. "Alright... make sure you don't go more than a couple miles ahead. If you see anything, don't engage, ain't no reason you have to."

Brad gave a victorious toothy grin. "Gotcha. Anything else?"

Joel scratched his beard anxiously. "If you get into trouble, don't hesitate to shoot."

"...But he shouldn't have to, right?" Claire chimed in, worry in her tone.

"If he's smart about it. Yeah... he should do just fine." Joel nodded and pointed the direction they were going. "Go on, get going Scout boy."

"I won't let you down." Brad smiled as he quickly ran off down the path, leaving Joel and Claire by themselves still going at a walking pace.

"Be careful!" Claire shouted out to him, and then he was gone...

"You put him up to this?" Joel inquired from the blond girl.

"...Is it really that obvious?" She feigned innocence. "We just wanted to lighten the load. You seemed to be doing all the legwork for us."

"That's because I am." Joel responded with stern tone. "You and Brad are just along for the ride as far as I'm concerned."

"...Well, you don't have to make it sound so bad," She crossed her arms in dismay. "We want to help you."

"Yeah well sometimes not helping is the best help there is." Joel growled, but then he felt sort of sorry when he heard the ominous thundering in the now grey sky above them and the sad expression Claire was giving him. "...Brad will be fine though... it uh... he'll tell us if there's any trouble before we make it to the cabin."

Claire grinned at that. "Right. He will."

Joel and Claire marched off the nature trail and they were standing at the absolute edge of the forest. As they were looking out among the valley before them, they could see a wide river to their left running blue but the water was also running real rough because of the incoming storm which was now getting prevalent.

Joel pointed out past a cornfield which was about half a mile before them and it was the only thing standing in their way of the mountain beyond it, which at the foot it, resided the cabin. "Let's keep moving."

* * *

Careful... real freaking careful... each step was made blindly and it could have been their last... But this was their only option.

Rylan, with Ellie snugly grasping his shoulder and right hand in waist-high running water, was putting his entire weight against the current of the river.

"Almost there... this is so stupid..." Rylan took another step, using all of his strength to keep both of their balances. "Hold on... you alright?"

The rushing of the water wasn't doing them any favors; it was starting to get real difficult to keep going at this pace, wading their ways across the shallow river. The sky above them soon became grey and the fact that they were only halfway; it wasn't doing much for Ellie's mood. "I'm fine! Quit fucking asking me!"

"Okay, okay! Just... almo-!"

That was when Rylan lost his footing, slipping off the edge of a rock underwater and tumbling into the blue-grey rapids he was attempting to wade through. And when he fell, Ellie followed with a yelp of surprise. Quickly, the two of them were already swept away by the tough current, being thrown downstream in addition to the rising threat of a storm above them.

Coughing, spluttering, keeping their heads above water... hold onto each other, that's all they had or could do. The current of the stormy river was now too strong to keep their footing... they would have to grab onto something else... And that's when Rylan saw it: a large fallen tree with its roots barely touching over the water, hopefully they would be strong enough to hold their combined weight; he just had to grab it.

"*splutter* Ellie! Hang on!" Rylan held onto the girl with his left hand while he desperately reached out with the right... he had one chance...

"Got it!" Rylan exclaimed as he and Ellie latched on the roots of the tree.

The two of them fought against the growing rip current of the down-flowing river, until the point they were finally able to pull themselves out of the water and back onto solid green land.

Trying to catch their breaths and realize that they actually made it across an almost impassible river, thinking it was passable... The sky above them had by now declared that at this time the valley they resided in was in for a storm, and a rolling of a deep thunder was the signal for the mountain tempest to begin...

"You okay?" Rylan reached out to the still coughing girl. "That wasn't exactly what I had in mind..."

"Next time..." Ellie coughed and got herself up. "You teach me how to fucking doggie paddle."

Getting the message, Rylan nodded. "Alright..." The two of them turned their backs on the river, and they were facing a tall and rather large fully-grown cornfield in their way. "Looks we have to keep our eyes and ears open..."

"Not the best time for making corn puns..." Ellie crossed her arms in exasperation.

"What? I didn't even mean t-!"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Get down!" Ellie had grabbed Rylan and the two of them dove into the cornfield ahead, hiding from the unknown gunfire.

They just had to run, run and run, and run some more just to get some distance from those random bullets being shot. Was it at them? Or was it something else? Either way, Ellie and Rylan ran side-by-side as they dashed between the stalks of the corn crop. The storm began to rage above them as an endless amount of rain landed and made the pitter-patter noises on their heads and shoulders. The rain also resulted in the dirt beneath their feet quickly becoming saturated and turn into squishy mud and puddles.

Ellie whispered to him as they kept running. "Listen we have to stick to- oh shit!"

Rylan and Ellie split in opposite directions as two bandits came rushing towards them, arguing about something as they ran past the two teens who were still undetected.

"Where'd those kids go?!"

"I don't know! But if you ask me, we got enough problems with Carter and that other guy!"

"Boss ain't gonna like this. Stay alert!"

The sounds of brushing and crunching of corn stalks soon faded away, leaving Ellie and Rylan to silently converse on what to do next. Rylan gave a stern glare at her. "Stay in sight, we're going to sneak past them."

Ellie agreed as she got her switchblade in hand as did Rylan with his crossbow. The both of them traveled parallel with each other in the same direction. They gave one another encouraging glances and they believed that they would be on their way of getting out of this, with little to no resistance.

...But that was when Rylan looked back, and he lost track of Ellie... where was she?! He had lost her in the cornfield, and the storm still raged above as the thunder mirrored and even symbolized his frustrations for the situation. "Dammit, where are you?"

Rylan moved low and slow now, he was alone for the moment and when he came out to a small clearing where a rusty red tractor was parked at. Surrounded by stalks of corn on all sides, Rylan felt exposed. He was about to dive back into the cover of the tall field when he noticed another bandit by the hood of the tractor, his back was towards him...

Taking him out would be one less guy to worry about... and if he was lucky, taking him alive and using him as a hostage if he got caught... either way, let's do this quietly...

Rylan lined up his crossbow and aimed it at the guy, it was getting darker, and the rain surely wasn't helping. Before he could pull the trigger, the bandit spun around and fired his pistol!

Rylan dived into the mud in an effort to avoid the shot, and he must have since he felt no bullets penetrating his flesh, but when his body slid into the mud he dropped his crossbow in the dark...

Rylan was about to pull out his hunting knife when the bandit in front of him approached him, his pistol aimed right for his head. "I wouldn't if I were you!"

Rylan, his face and shirt sopped with wet mud, faced his opponent putting his hands up defensively in surrender. "Okay... just don't shoot me..."

And then something odd happened. The blond man who stood before the teen at gunpoint, his demeanor changed, it softened... it was hesitant.

"You're... just a kid..."

And not another second had passed when a bullet, guised in the sound of the deafening thunder had made its mark and it blew out the brains of that man, and he died before his body met the wet ground with a thud...

In disbelief, Rylan looked at the body before him and then off to his right to see a panting Ellie stumbling out of the cornstalks. "Oh man... Did I get him?"

"Y-yeah... you got him good..." Rylan picked himself and retrieved his dirty crossbow from the mud. "Let's keep moving... quietly..."

"Right, let's go..." She nodded.

But before he and Ellie kept going... even still in the rage and chaos of their situation and the still roaring storm, something caught Rylan's eye. A rare color he did not see commonly among the bodies of the dead. He picked up the golden item that had fallen out of the man's pocket, and he stoically collected at his fortune.

They needed a new compass...

* * *

**A/N- I hope you realize what happened... Will they all reach the cabin next chapter or will something else disrupt their journey? Find out more next time, stay tuned! :)**

**And btw thank you much so far for the reviews, favs, follows, and advice. Keep it up!**


	8. Chapter 8: The Cabin

**Chapter 8: The Cabin**

* * *

Rylan and Ellie were still dashing through the cornfield, in fear that another bandit would cross paths with them. Fortunately, they seemed to be lucky...

"Jesus! How big is this cornfield anyway?!" Ellie exclaimed as they both wandered in the same direction.

"I guess this is why they call it a maize..." Rylan smirked as the drops of rain continued to fall from the sky.

She had to stifle a chuckle from that. "Shut up, let's focus here. Where-!"

"Don't move!"

The order was as soon as the two teens stumbled out of the edge of the stalks of corn, and they were on wet soppy green grass instead. Rylan and Ellie didn't take too kindly to the command so they pointed their weapons in the direction of the familiar voice and that was when Ellie finally realized who it was under the dark sky of the storm...

"Joel...?"

"Ellie?"

Claire and Joel turned on their flashlights to confirm that these were not some cutthroat bandits, but two young kids tumbling out of the corn, more than likely fighting for their lives as hard, if not harder than they were...

Not another passed when Joel and Ellie relinquished their weapons and embraced each other in heartwarming hug. "Oh... baby girl, you're okay now... I'm so sorry..."

"Joel... I'm sorry too..." She got out as they thunder and lightning above them raged on. The two of them separated after they realized the alertness of the situation at hand. Not to mention that Rylan and Claire felt a bit awkward.

"Well..." Rylan scratched the back of his sheepishly. "I don't mean to interrupt but... you know, we got some bandits back there to worry about."

Joel turned his attention away from Ellie and towards the boy, giving him a skeptical look. "And just who are you suppose to be?"

Ellie quickly went to defend him before Rylan could respond. "He's my friend, alright? He helped me get this far!" She already could tell what Joel meant. "Goddamit Joel, this isn't the time!"

Rylan added. "We can talk later when we find some shelter!"

Claire finally piped up. "Not until we find Brad, have either of you two seen him? Blonde hair? Blue shirt?"

Sounded vaguely familiar but they couldn't be too sure. "...No." Ellie and Rylan shook their heads which saddened her.

"Alright..." Joel sighed and he pulled out this pistol and turned back towards the cornfield. "I'll go back in and look for Brad, alone. ...Ellie, you know where the cabin is, take Claire and..."

"Rylan." He filled in the gap and introduced himself.

"Yeah... him." He growled at that and continued. "Take'em both there and we'll meet up later and talk. Got it?"

"But Joel-"

"Got it?!"

"...Fine." Ellie grumbled in agreement as she motioned the two of them to follow her while Joel dived back into the field.

"Please, find him Joel!" Claire called out to him as he disappeared and she went on to follow this girl who was hopefully leading them to a possible sanctuary from the storm...

Joel held his gun downward as he jogged at his own pace looking for any possible signs for the young man in question. "Goddamn it Brad, where the hell are ya?"

Strangely enough, Joel did not find any resistance in the field. The bandits either withdrawn from the entire area, or... no. They had to have left, for now at least. But Joel had only been searching on for a few more minutes until he came out into a small clearing where a rusty red tractor was parked.

There was nothing in the vicinity as far as Joel could see, but it was only until his flashlight shined on what he thought was a mound of dirt or something on the muddy ground did he come to recognize a body...

Cautiously, he approached what he assumed to be a dead corpse, and the realization of his identity became apparent as his flashlight as well as the lightning lit up the face of the victim in front of him. "Christ... Brad... shit."

It was him... it was the young man Joel had sent off to his death... he couldn't help but feel responsible for what happened here. Oh god... Claire will be ruined...

What could Joel do? He couldn't take his dead body back to the cabin. He didn't have time to bury him... although it bothered and maybe even pained him to do so, Joel shook his head, realizing he just had to leave him be, here in the middle of this fucking field. "...You deserved better kid..." Joel sighed as he reached down to close Brad's eyes. "I'm sorry..."

Joel had to bring back proof for Claire, beyond a reasonable doubt that Brad was dead, his gun maybe? No, she would deny it and say he dropped it. His compass then, his most precious possession from what he could tell. Joel guiltily searched his pockets for the golden item but to no avail.

"Bandits, might've looted him already..." He grumbled in deduction.

How the hell was he going to break the news to her? ...But Joel, out of ideas, turned his back on Brad's corpse and went back the way he came, hopefully things will turn out better now that he's reunited with Ellie...

* * *

"So, how do you two know Joel?" Claire asked to make conversation as the rain began to let up and the three of them began to climb up a steep hill only ten minutes after they split up again.

"I don't." Rylan answered. "We all came from Jackson that much I know."

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "My fiancé and I escaped with him when those soldiers attacked, we've been traveling together ever since."

"You mean since yesterday?" Ellie responded, she only knew this girl for a less than an hour and already she could tell that she was going to come off as annoying.

"Yep." Claire smiled. "Just like you and your boyfriend."

"What?!" They both yelled while the blood rushed to their cheeks. They stammered and echoed each other's protests. "W-we're n-not-!"

Claire laughed. "Haha, it's okay, you don't have to be embarrassed. There's nothing cuter than young love."

"Just on hold a goddamn second, let us explain-!"

BANG!

The shot whizzed by, missing Ellie's head by mere inches!

"SNIPER!" Rylan shouted as the three of them found the nearest cover they could find and that was a thick log which was adjacent to where the gunshot came from. "Stay down!"

"What the heck are we going to do?!" Claire inquired in a panicked but whispered tone to the two teens. "I think we're pinned!"

Rylan tapped Ellie's shoulder to get her attention. "One of us is gonna have to peek up and see where he's at. Then we can draw his fire while another one of us flanks him."

"Sounds good." She agreed with his plan. "Okay let's-!"

"Pardon the intrusion..." Their hearts stopped at the sound of a deep western drawl of an accent as well as a boot slamming down on the log they were hiding behind. "...but the way I see it, you three may be dumber than a sack of hammers, ain't even realize how close I was."

"Hey! Fuck you old man!" Ellie hissed until her eyes crossed to meet the barrel of a bolt action sniper rifle which poked her in the nose.

The elder above them had blue jeans with boot cuts, and his large silver belt buckle glimmered from the little light that was left over from the day. He also wore a long-sleeved button-down shirt, with a red plaid pattern, and they could tell he wore his white cowboy hat and thick silver mustache with great pride. "Young lady like you shouldn't say such language..."

"You shoot her, you're dead." Rylan warned with his crossbow aimed right at the wrinkly man's forehead. Claire also mirrored his action, threatening to end his life as well.

"We can talk about this." Claire attempted to quell the tension. "We don't want any trouble."

The man chuckled. "Don't we all? ...Well, I ain't too keen on shooting any women or kids today... I just need to ya'll to be honest. Answer my question and we can all be friends."

"What's your question?" Ellie stared right into the man's dark eyes past the gun that was still on her nose.

"Ya'll with them bandits out there? You know anyone named Grant?" The man asked. "You look me in the eyes when you answer..."

Ellie replied with firm and definite tone. "No. We got past those assholes, they were shooting at us!"

"We don't know anyone named Grant!" Rylan stated truthfully.

The old man coughed as he took his weapon away from Ellie's face and shouldered it around his back, content with their answers. "Alright, good enough for me, sorry to bother ya..."

He was about to turn heel and be on his way when Claire chimed in and waved him back. "Excuse me! Maybe you can help us?"

Rylan and Ellie shot her a look which screamed: Claire really?! Shut up! When he said 'we can all be friends' he probably really meant: we won't shoot each other.

"How's that?" He turned back around to face his three acquaintances. "Ya'll on my property, trespassing on my daddy's land, and I'm letting ya'll walk away. That's help enough."

"We're looking for a cabin around here. Can you point us in the right direction?" Claire pried for information. "We can-!"

"The only cabin around here for miles... is my home." He revealed as he introduced himself. "My name is Carter Slade... and I ask you three, are you my guests or my target practice?"

Claire got the message and put her weapon away and held her hands up in surrender. Ellie and Rylan were still wary, but they soon understood as well as Rylan lowered his crossbow and Ellie holstered her weapon. "Okay... we'll start with names... what did your mamas and papas call ya when ya'll were toddlers?"

"I'm Claire, pleasure to meet a reasonable face..." Her eyes darted from Carter to the teens beside her. "This is Ellie and... Rylan."

Carter nodded. "Alright... why should I bring ya into my home? You gotta understand somethin' about what's goin' on out there. ...Hardly anybody can trust anybody these days..."

Rylan stepped up to reply. "You have our word, we won't be any trouble."

Carter raised his bushy eyebrow at that. "Your word, huh? ...Sayin' it don't mean it's good."

Ellie yelled, frustrated that this stubborn old man wouldn't trust them. She knew that familiar feeling... "Fuck it! Listen, we were here before and it was abandoned when we found the cabin last time, and now we really fucking need to stay here! So, I'm asking you... are you really going to turn us away when we both have those goddamn bandits as common enemies?"

Carter stroked his mustache, deep in thought and he turned back around towards the direction of his residence. "...Suppose not. I find it hard to say no to a little girl. ...Follow me then... and don't shoot me in the back."

Claire and Rylan looked at Ellie in amazement and they silently praised her for her efforts, so the three of them followed Carter on the homestretch of the cabin they were all desperately traveling towards since their escape from Jackson.

* * *

The clouds had finally dissipated, and the orange setting sun revealed itself already halfway below the horizon as the four of them hiked up a steeper hill. They were passing rocks and tall trees, climbing up a small dirt trail which they assumed will lead them to the front door. ...And they were right.

Now within sight around a cluster of trees and mountain path behind it, a two-story log cabin with a stone chimney wafting with a faint white smoke and eight windows, six on the first floor and two on the second. The large sheltered wooden porch looked very homey and inviting as the four of them walked up its stairs.

"Off to a good start..." Carter mumbled as he opened the front door and stood aside so that they would enter first. "Leave all your weapons next to the coat rack... you won't be needin' them."

Claire smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Slade."

"Call me Carter sweetheart. Now go on git, all of ya." He waved them in.

Ellie took the first step across the threshold as she stepped inside and looked to her right to see the coat rack and a boot locker. She gave a look at the old cowboy and relinquished her pistol, but she decided against giving up her switchblade and kept it hidden in her pocket.

Rylan was next and he placed his crossbow on the ground next to Ellie's gun. "Knife too boy..." Rylan grunted in frustration as he pulled out his knife and put it in the pile as well. "Good."

Claire quickly and happily put her pistol with the others and they were all inside with the door closed behind them. They looked around and saw that the first floor of the cabin was just one big room. The stairs to the second floor was centered in the middle of the cabin while each corner played a role as a different room. On the far right corner was the kitchen, on the far left was a dining table, and the closer left was the fireplace and sitting area, and the closer right was storage and supplies spot.

"If you gotta go, there's an outhouse past the back door. And beds are upstairs." Carter told them as he placed his rifle on the nearby wall with their weapons. "How long ya thinkin' of stayin'?"

Ellie wondered that as well. "We don't know yet..." Maybe when Joel got back they could talk about their next move.

"Hmm... hungry?" Carter took off his hat revealing his mop of white hair and set it on a hook on the coat rack as he moved towards the kitchen. "Sit down, make yourselves at home then."

"Thanks a lot." Rylan gratefully replied as he made his way to the dining table, with Claire and Ellie following.

The cabin's windows allowed some light in, and the fireplace and some lanterns were already ready to keep the interior out of darkness. Carter had a pretty nice set-up here...

"Hope you like rabbit stew..." Carter came back with a pot, and he put it on the table along with some bowls and spoons. "Ain't a lot but..."

"It smells delicious!" Claire excitedly said as she helped herself.

Carter joined them as they all slowly enamored themselves it what could be considered a normal dinner in the apocalypse. But that was when Ellie remembered to mention, "Hey uh... we should tell you that we have another friend on his way here."

Carter looked up from his stew to address the girl. "Slipped your mind huh? ...What's his name?"

"His name is Joel." Claire answered with a grin. "You'd like him, and he should be coming back with my fiancé Brad."

"There's two of them now?" Carter clanked his spoon on his bowl at this information. "Now am I gonna regret my hospitality to you folks? ...Because I can as sure as shit kick ya'll right back outta here. Pardon my French."

Rylan took it upon himself to reply. "We know that... sir. And we appreciate your uh... compassion but I can tell you're good people, and I'm telling you we're good people too. We didn't even try to kill you on the way over here, and we could have."

Carter sighed and stroked his mustache again, agreeing with the boy. "...Ellie, ain't it?" She nodded. "Go out there and wait for ya friends. Might be hard though..."

Ellie was about to get up and wait on the front porch for Brad and Joel when Carter spoke ominously...

"Because nowadays if you can't trust the people you're with... you might as well kill each other."

* * *

**A/N- How will Joel react with the cabin already taken up residence? And how might Claire take the news of Brad's demise? Can they all get along and could the cabin be a permanent hideout?**

**Review your thoughts and theories on the matter, PLEASE :)**

**Thank you all to those who are following and fav'ing the story, spread the word and join the adventure.**


	9. Chapter 9: Love, Lies, and Limits

**Chapter 9: Love, Lies, and Limits**

**A/N- Please forgive me, I hate to make you all wait for new chapters, but I've been real sick this past week and family matters. So without further ado, it's continue shall we?**

* * *

"Joel!"

That was him...

"Ellie?" He was hoping that he could spot the lights from the windows of the cabin which guided him to it.

"Joel! You okay?" She inquired as she hopped off the wooden porch to meet him at the base of the stairs.

The sun had already gone down, and the sky was already dark enough for the stars to shine numerously and exuberantly on the mountainside below. From all of the commotion of the arrival, Claire's stomps had met the door, no doubt in search for her true love...

"Brad?!" She looked around and only found Joel and Ellie, her heart panicked. "Where's Brad?"

Joel's body had physically sagged at that question, but he used exhaustion to hide his reaction. What the hell was Joel going to do? How the hell do you tell someone like this the worst possible news? When the old man looked at her hopeful, now quickly turning hopeless, blue eyes as they began to water, awaiting his answer...

"...Claire... I..." His mind flashed back with his situation Ellie upon their escape from St. Mary's Hospital. ...But he's only known both of them two days, why did he care this much?

Would the lie be better than the truth? For her sake? No... Joel found that out firsthand what happens when the truth comes out. ...But these were differnet circumstances, maybe. ...no, he gelt too sorry for her and Joel failed with this fight, and he caved in... "I-uh... couldn't find him. No luck..."

"What?!" Her eyes widened, fearing the worst for him. "Where is he? Joel, why couldn't you find him?!"

Brad's corpse flashed on the inside of his eyelids everytime he blinked at her. "I'm sorry Claire; there was no trace of him..."

Claire let out a light sob from hearing his response. She covered her mouth and shook her head in denial. "No… no. No! I'm going out there!"

She already moved forward off the porch in an attempt to search for herself. That is, until Joel made a move sideways to block her path. "Can't let you go out there."

"Joel, I am going to find him. Now get out of my way, please!" Joel couldn't tell if she was begging or ordering, more than likely the former.

"Claire, you can't! There's still shithead bandits out there that'll shoot you on sight!" Ellie warned, trying to separate them apart.

"Or worse..." He added thinking what a group of men like them could do to a girl like her...

"I don't care!" She sobbed. "I-I-I know B-brad's out there!" She pointed while avoiding eye contact with him because of the stutter.

Joel consoled her, trying to calm her down and spoke in a gentle tone. "We'll all go out and look for him again in the morning, alright? ...I promise."

Claire sniffed loudly as she tried to wipe away the tears as they threatened to fall, nodding now with a clear and logical head. "Okay... *sniffle* I trust you... all of us... in the morning."

"He might be dead in the mornin'..."

The three of them all gasped at the sound of the deep voice entering their conversation as they turned their attentions at Carter and Rylan, who both stood in the doorway.

"What...?" The very thought of her thinking-!

"...Or he might've been captured." He finished his words.

"C-captured?" Claire settled herself down again.

Rylan finally found his chance to talk, stating the fact that Carter and he discussed this earlier inside. "Carter, you really think he could still be alive? After taken by bandits?"

Carter stroked his mustache once more, deep in thought for them. "...Hope so." And then he had an idea. "Grant might want to recruit him as an extra pair of hands."

"Grant?" Ellie was the one to ask. "You mentioned him before..."

"Yup..." Carter sighed. "Let's just say, he's my neighbor... and the leader of them bandits in this area, but we have a mutual understanding, he and I..."

"Easy understanding a bandit..." Joel scoffed. "How'd you get them to not kill you?"

"I made a deal with Grant," Carter looked stoic, even grumpy with this sort of fact. "Last week after a little bit of shootin' we agreed with Food for Protection. ...Didn't really have much choice... but his gang would leave me be if I gave them most of my kills. Rabbits... deer..."

"Well then why don't you just leave?" Joel asked as if that was the smartest idea in the world.

"Can't rightly do that. This here is my daddy's cabin... and this is where I'm gonna to stay." Carter declared. "Just busted my way out of Cheyenne and got back here a few months ago. It's all I have left. ...Too old to move on anyway."

"So we can go look for their stronghold and go get Brad back?" Claire asked the cowboy with hope refilling her eyes, lighting them up.

"Easier said than done... He's got us outmanned and outgunned. So... tomorrow after we get him some food as an offerin', we visit their compound." Carter suggested in an nonchalant tone.

"And how do you know they won't just shoot us dead?" Joel inquired.

"Grant may be a survivor, but he also has some descent respect in him, he don't like to kill people he likes." Carter replied with a plan in mind. "We'll get a huntin' party goin' on tomorrow mornin', and if all goes well... we'll get your man back."

Claire smiled somberly. "Thank you... thank you so much..."

"You're welcome miss." He said in a gruff as he gave a half smile, and he went back inside to finish his stew, leaving the others outside.

Claire looked back at Joel and then out into the forest and down the path and then back in the cabin. "I'm going to help out Carter with the hunt tomorrow. ...And there's nothing you can do that'll stop me!"

Joel had already regretted his lie as he looked at her with sad eyes. "I ain't even in your way no more..."

"Good." Claire nodded and walked past Rylan and into the cabin as well, suddenly bushed from the current of events.

Rylan then stepped out onto the porch to address Joel and Ellie now with an effort to remain optimistic too. "...Not really what I expected but hey I guess we can't lose hope in times like these..."

Joel pushed Ellie out of the way and quickly approached the boy, "Just who the hell are you?!" he was so fast that Rylan stumbled backwards until he was leaning against the wooden logs that made up the wall, obviously intimidated by him as Joel towered over him.

"Joel!" Ellie followed him and she did her best to get in between them but she was pushed back by Joel's calloused hand. "Jesus, he's just my friend alright?! I met up with him in Jackson before the Fireflies attacked!"

"It's true." Rylan tried to explain. "Ellie and I met yesterday morning, and we were talking till those soldiers attacked."

"He saved my life more than once already." She proclaimed to him.

"And she saved mine..." He added as he held his hands up in defense. "...Anything else you want to know?"

Joel scowled at the brunette before him. He knew exactly what boys his age were after when it came to girls like Ellie. As far as Joel was concerned, this was the last thing she or he needed: another hormonal teenager. "...Ellie, give us a minute alright?"

She already knew what he was probably going to imply, but Ellie was ready to retaliate at him and in a hushed tone in case anyone else was listening. "He knows I'm immune, he's seen me breathe in spores..."

Joel interjected. "We don't know this kid, Ellie."

Rylan shrugged. "She just looked like she needed help, and it turns out... we both needed each other. Joel, sir... I get it if you don't want me around Ellie-!"

"You're goddamn right I don't!" He growled angrily. "And neither does sh-!"

"No Rylan! I do!" Her interruption made both the men turn their attention toward the girl. "Joel, he's a good hunter and he can help us out, so he's staying!"

Joel looked like he was discomforted. He felt like overruling her word with a declaration of his own. He only wanted to protect Ellie, now more than ever. But kicking this kid's ass and out into the darkness wouldn't be the best thing either; he didn't want to make another bad decision and divide his baby girl and himself even more. "Boy... if you endanger any of us here... I swear, you'll regret it..." Joel then turned to his girl. "We'll talk about this in the morning."

After he gave Rylan another mean sneer, Joel walked inside to explore the cabin after he gave a protective pat on Ellie's shoulder, leaving the two kids alone. Rylan then pulled himself back from the wall and then addressed Ellie with a knowing smirk. "You were right; he can be a bit of a grouch."

* * *

The next morning was that of a hopeful one, according to Claire, but little did any of them know that almost everyone in the cabin had something to hide whether or not they knew it.

Carter played the role of the rooster who cock-a-doodle-dooed everyone awake from in their own beds in the same room on the upper floor of the cabin. They all groggily noticed that it was the crack of dawn, and the fact that that this day was a big enough day to get them out of bed.

"Oh man...why so early?" Ellie yawned as she rubbed her eyes and tugged her shoes on as she sat on her assigned bed.

"Probably because Carter wants to make a plan with us as soon as possible, I get the feeling that he's excited to be around new people..." Rylan responded as he got his boots on too.

"Finding Brad should be our first priority, and I appreciate Carter's early bird attitude." Claire added as she quickly headed downstairs.

Joel told the kids after the blond was out of earshot. "Don't get your hopes up, Brad might be dead."

The fact that Joel told them this at all was only because if the truth was found out that he would be the majority against the idea of Brad being alive, a campaign that his fiancée Claire wanted to reign. But perhaps we should just let the natural courses unfold and tell us what really happened.

"But he could still be taken prisoner too, like Carter said?" Rylan remarked. "That's like half the reason we're all going out, right?"

Joel didn't respond as he got off his bed, ignored the boy, and headed downstairs to join the others. Rylan looked back at Ellie who was about to grab the railing too. "You coming?"

"Hold on a sec." He stopped and motioned her to walk back towards his bed as he rummaged through his backpack. "...I wanted to give this to you last night, but I think Joel would've torn my head off…"

"Pfftt... no shit? You think he doesn't like you or something? No way~" Her sarcastic tone knew no bounds for him.

Rylan smirked in response as he pulled out the item and then stood up by his bed so that he faced her. "Nah... I'll get him to adore me in no time. Close your eyes, no peeking!"

"This better not be anything fuckin' gross..." Ellie chuckled waiting for her gift.

"...Now Ellie, get on your knees." Rylan joked but quickly regretted it when he got punched in the arm. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Jeez... here take this."

"Huh?" Ellie took the item that was placed in her hand by the boy in front of her, and it was a golden compass. In near perfect condition, it shone brightly in the rising sun from the window as she laced it through her fingers, inspecting it. "Wow... where'd you get it?"

"I picked it up from the guy in the cornfield, looked cool so I..." Rylan smiled as he scratched his head awkwardly. "You know... it's engraved too." He blushed at that.

"'To My Sweetheart'" it said as she read the back of the compass. "...That's so fuckin' corny."

"But I thought you loved corny." Rylan could not stop grinning as he placed his hand over hers. "Your sense of humor says so~"

She shrugged him off with a huff and pulled away from him. "Do we really need to do this now?"

"No... I just thought, you know... trying to be nice." Said this lonely boy in the apocalypse with a girl.

"Tch... thanks Rylan." She sweetly smiled as she took the compass and pocketed it. "Really."

"Anytime, now let's head downstairs before any of them gets suspicious." His lips twitched as he grabbed her hand tenderly.

Ellie looked down at their interlocked fingers, and then her eyes trailed from their hands to the exposed bite on her arm, always there to remind her. "Rylan... this is..." She didn't know how to handle this. This boy that she had met two days ago... she already knew she could trust him with her life, and he would trust his life with hers. They just seemed to click, sort of like... Riley.

"Shush." He silenced her as he surprisingly joined his chapped lips with hers again, but both sober now.

The blood had rushed to their faces, which made their cheeks and bodies melt like they were both jelly in each other's arms. It was like a magnificent encore of what happened to them the night they shared the bottle of wine. It was nice... it was comforting... it felt so natural and... _good_... it felt so good to be wrapped in another one's embrace sharing their bliss with one another, this kind of joy...

From downstairs they could hear Joel bark at them, "Ellie? Get on down here!"

The two teens broke apart at the sound of the order, still wrapped in one another's arms they looked into each other's eyes, green ones meeting brown... Rylan's voice broke the silence with a raised eyebrow. "Is this official now?"

Ellie offered him a sweet smile but it then disappeared and was replaced with a grimace. "Why the hell are we doing this?"

"What do you mean?" He questioned with a look of confusion.

"You..." She tore away from him and made her way to the top of the stairs holding the railing again. There was no other way around it, they would never be able to have a normal relationship without endangering Rylan and his health. Kissing was nice, but in the long run their minds were naturally thought about it. What about... sex? No. Bottom line, she was... Infected. "We can't be together."

"Ellie..." But she didn't listen to his protests as she stepped down to the first floor to join the others, leaving Rylan alone. "Ellie wait!"

She ignored him, and it was for his own protection... Rylan quickly followed her to the dining room below where everyone else had already sat down to eat breakfast with Carter at the head of the table. Rylan accepted that whatever stuff he and Ellie had to deal with, it would be for later. Focus at the matter at hand.

"Nice of ya to join us," Carter stated as he placed a hand-drawn map of the local area he must have made. "Now we can get started."

"We should move on outta here, maybe move South before Winter sets in..." Joel suggested prompting a next course of action for their group. That's what he wanted: to keep moving.

"You mean after we get Brad, right Joel?" Claire responded as she shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "But why would we want to leave? What's the rush?"

"Those Bandits might be a problem." Rylan crossed his arms after he took a seat next to Claire, across from Joel and Ellie. "They already tried to kill us once, we shouldn't stick around and test our luck."

Carter frowned. "If they know you're with me, then Grant will leave us alone, as long as we make the payment and negotiate with them. ...Trust me, that's your only option if you want to find your friend."

"And if we don't find him?" Ellie surprisingly challenged him. "What then? We just wait around here like dipshits until something else happens?" She gave Joel a quick glance over to him, and he knew exactly what she meant.

Fireflies. Little did the rest of the group know, Joel and Ellie caught up with one another and informed each other of the imminent threat. About Devlin, how the Fireflies might be chasing them now. Time was what they probably didn't have.

But even if Joel told the truth now, Claire and maybe even Carter would deny it and continue thier efforts, shit what the hell could he do?

"We take it one step at a time." Carter replied with a harsh tone, more than likely offended someone would backtalk him in his own home. "Here's the plan."

They all listened in to his words. "What I wanna do is leave two of us to guard the cabin and check the nearby traps, here, here, and here." He pointed on the map. "The other two of ya are gonna come with me and track down some big game on the way to their compound." He explained. "Keep an eye out for your friend too."

"Deer'll be near water." Rylan chimed in. "Who's staying behind?"

Claire sat up like a nail was on her chair, "I'm going! Only Joel and I know what he looks like!"

"...I feel more confortable knowin' an adult is guardin' my cabin, no offense kids."

Ellie shrugged at that comment. "Hey, none taken. Rylan can go hunt with you two, and I'll stay here with Joel. Done."

This feeling in the pit of of his stomach had intensified, and alarm bells rang out in Rylan's head. Joel might convience Ellie to just leave while their gone. She always talked about how they were such a team. He couldn't risk it, not after what happened upstairs. He had to stay with Ellie, she couldn't leave yet. "Hold on! ...I don't think I can hunt..."

"What? What's your problem boy?"

"I... I-! *URP*" And then almost as if on command, he remember that horrible night... the sight... the smell... the _taste_... Everyone was surpsised to see Rylan's cheeks puff out and almost instantaneously a pot was placed in front of him by Claire and he filled his sick into it.

"Jesus, Rylan. What's wrong with you?" Ellie exclaimed as she scrunched her nose at the smell of the bile.

"Are you okay?" Claire inquired as she rubbed his back to soothe him while he spat in the pot. "If you're throwing up, you should stay here. Right?"

"Fine. Boy'll scare the animals away if he keeps this up. Little lady, you up for a hunt?" Carter wanted to ask for permission to make it final.

Ellie shot a suspicous glare at Rylan who had buried his head in the pot to avoid her gaze. She then looked at Joel, but he only he groaned and gave a shake of disapproval to her. "...Anyone got a bow and arrow?"

"I don't like this." Joel finally said out flatly in front of everyone. "I don't want Ellie out there with two people she barely knows!"

"Then suggest an alternative, 'sides holding hands, tellin' our life stories and singin' Kumbaya, because I ain't doin' that." Carter stood firm. "You wanna protect your people right? Well then, you're doin' it MY way. Clear?"

"Brad is dead! Alright?!" Joel finally let it out almost to forcefully, but still he wished he never told the lie in the first place. He would not endanger Ellie like this, he couldn't trust these people, not yet. "I found his body last night and-!"

"SHUT UP!" Claire roared. "SHUT THE FUCK UP JOEL! You might have given up hope on Brad, but I sure as hell didn't! I never will!"

Everyone was silent... they all stared at either Joel or the Claire, uneasy on what might be said next. But it was Joel who frowned through his thick greying beard. "I can show you..."

"Show me then." Claire stood up and checked to see that she had ammo in her pistol. "I won't believe another word unless you prove it!"

"Tell me then how it all works out." Carter sighed as he folded up his map and gave an annoyed look at Rylan. "You're cleanin' that out, you got that?"

He nodded as he got up from his chair and went to the sink, dissapointed that his plan backfired on him, he was just worried that Joel would make Ellie leave him. "On it."

"Come on," Joel motioned for Ellie and Claire to follow him. He definitely needed Ellie to stick close to him. She was safe with him, no longer would they ever be separated like this. "Let's get on outta here."

As the three of them stepped out the door, Joel bowed his head as he heard Claire mumble under her breathe.

She whispered under her breathe. "He'll be okay... you'll see..."

* * *

**A/N- I actually had something a lot differnet in mind in this chapter but then realized it would go against Joel's character. So I changed it, what do you think?**

**How will Claire react to Brad's death? What the hell is wrong with Rylan? And what are your predicitons on the chapter? :)**

***cough cough* I'm still very sick, maybe some reviews would make me feel better? *cough* To motivate and inspire and heal me? Until next time! ;)**


	10. Chapter 10: Grant Thee Grace

**Chapter 10: Grant Thee Grace**

**A/N- Again I wish I could update quicker, but I've been busy and doing some hard thinking. Thanks a lot to the people who support this story so far! :) Let's keep going!**

* * *

Joel, Ellie, and Claire had jogged through the forest for a few minutes now after they left Rylan and Carter back in the cabin. They were headed downhill this time, so this might be a faster trip then they thought. But still, this issue had to be resolved once and for all, the truth had to come out...

The two of them could hear the young blonde girl still talking to herself. "He's okay... he's going to be okay... He has to be... he has to..."

Joel knew that only Brad's corpse would prove Claire wrong enough to shock her out of denial, but that outburst she had with him back in the cabin... He didn't want this being another Sam/Henry situation all over again... God, he didn't want to remember that. "In the middle of the cornfield, that's where we need to go."

Several moments later of more half-walk half-jog, the three of them made it to the edge of the cornfield, still high and green, and also still wet from the storm that occurred there from yesterday.

"Through here." Joel waved them in as he created a gap. "Stick close. Alright?"

The two girls nodded as they had their guns drawn, in case they met any other strangers in this now infamous cornfield. They all dove in once more, Joel took the lead and his larger size created an easier path for the girls who followed right behind him. And as they traversed the stalks, Claire's heartbeat quickened, her muscles tensed, and her mind led her to horrible thoughts... of misery, grief, and loneliness. But she bit back the tears and sobs as of yet, and gasped as they came to a small clearing in the corn where that same rusty red tractor was parked.

Joel couldn't believe it. "He's gone!"

Ellie's eyes finally widened at the realization, her mind began to click. She wasn't stupid, anyone could see that, but the fact that this all seemed so coincidental... no it couldn't... Her hand drifted in to the bulge in her pocket then remembered that she _had_ been here before! "Oh shit..."

Claire let out yelp of relief, there was still hope, maybe Joel was mistaken. "You see? You must have made a mistake! It was raining and dark when you were here last, right? He's still alive!"

No, no, no. Joel did _not _make a mistake. "Someone musta took his body. Maybe animals... or-!"

"There would be blood or stuff lying around if that happened." Claire quickly shot down as she pointed at the slightly muddy ground. "Look, footprints! I bet he wandered off a-and he went to l-look for us!"

No he didn't. Joel moved forward to inspect the scene as he scratched his head for more clues. And Ellie did her best to stealthy pull out the compass from her pocket. She had to get rid of this damn thing before-!

"Ah! Ow!" Ellie's foot caught on a hole in the dirt and she was about to fall over when Claire caught her. "Claire I-!"

But it was already too late... Claire had caught Ellie with the hand that held the compass and as she held her up, she registered what was in the fifteen year old's palm... "W-what...?"

"Claire?" Joel turned around to see Claire step back from Ellie and her eyes downcast as she took the compass out of the girl's hands and rolled it over in her fingers.

No mistaking it, this was the compass she had got him after he proposed to her. 'To My Sweetheart' She would not take her eyes off it. It was not covered in mud either, it was in pristine condition, not found here but with Ellie...

**Play the Last of Us All Gone (Seasons) OST- **

...

...

It was Ellie that spoke up. "Claire, are you okay...?"

The blonde girl just kept rolling the compass over and over between her fingers, not paying her any mind at all. It was like she was in her own little world...

"He... he loved this thing... *sniffle* cherished it..." Claire would not look up. "He was such a sweet guy, always happy, always tried to find the good in people... I know he never would've let this out of his sight... never..."

Ellie looked back at Joel and gave him a guilty expression, her eyes began to water themselves in shame. And Joel understood... but Claire snapped their attentions back to her. "Tell me, just... tell me what happened Ellie, please!" She sobbed.

As gingerly and sympathetically as she could Ellie told her what happened yesterday. "...After Rylan and I crossed the river, we were shot at by those bandits, and we dove in here to escape. ...We got separated for a second, and by the time I came back around, Rylan was being held at gunpoint by this guy..."

Claire's ears perked up at that as her gaze went up to the girl then back to the compass, she motioned for her to continue.

"Claire, it was so dark... and I thought he was going to hurt my friend so..." Ellie could still have blamed Rylan at the point, but no... this was a shitty situation and it needed to be resolved. "...so I shot him... it was me..."

Her entire body cringed at that, and tears began to spill over while she tried to compose herself. "Oh my... I... I don't feel good..."

"Is this true?" Joel needed to hear that again. "Ellie, did you kill Brad?"

"...Yes. But I didn't mean to, I thought he was a bandit trying to kill Rylan. It all happened so fast and it was so dark, you saw it last night, you both almost shot at us when we met up! But... Claire, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I didn't know until I got back here and I... I didn't know. ...I'm so sorry."

Claire's world had finally crashed down on her. Brad was dead. She heard her killer's confession... so her arms fell to her sides and she just dropped the compass in the mud, like it was nothing more that a paperweight...

They could tell she was in great distress, doing her best to hold back the anger and the grief. "Do you... do you know what you've done to me? Do you have any idea?!"

"I didn't mean to, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Claire..." Ellie pleaded to her for forgiveness.

Joel and Ellie both caught their breath when they saw Claire had moved her right hand to her gun and took it out, still avoiding eye contact with them. Her sobs had stopped and her sniffles had ceased. "...People like Brad aren't coming back, are they?! This is it, and now he's gone!"

Joel stepped forward so that he now stood beside Ellie, his hand on his holster, just in case. "Claire... put the gun down..."

"Why...?" She croaked as he noticed her trigger finger stroking dangerously on the side of her gun. "Why should I?"

"What you're thinking of ain't the answer." Joel attempted to console. "Now I know what's it's like... to lose someone, and it's hard, but... things happen and you have to move on... I'm sorry."

Claire looked up at the two with a new expression they had not seen before on her face: _hate._ "...Y-you both lied to me... you're still lying to me!"

"We're not lying! We swear!" Ellie immediately defended themselves.

"Then where is his body huh? ...What did you do with him?! WHAT DID YOU DO WITH BRAD?" Claire at this point had become hysterical. "Was it a group effort? One of you pulls the trigger and loots his corpse, while the other dumps the body later, is that what this is?!"

Joel shouted back with his hand firmly grasped on the handle of his gun, prepared for the worst. "No! That's crazy talk!"

Claire then clutched her head in her hands, the barrel of her weapon, only inches away from the temple of her head. "You've both ruined everything!"

Joel grabbed Ellie shoulders and and forced her behind him as he stepped closer to the angry and grieving young woman. "Claire... I'm gonna take away the gun, alright? Just-!"

In a flash, Claire pointed her weapon, aimed directly at Joel's head as she screamed. "...Both of you... it's all your fault! It's all your FAULT!"

In truth, it really was no one's fault, how could any of them known this would have happened? But still, Claire's words echoed like those bellowed like Henry almost a year ago... but this time the gun ended up pointed in a different direction.

"Don't you do this!" Joel warned as the blond suddenly changed targets to her lover's murderer. "Don't make me-! Ellie!"

SWOOSH! "AHH! Ack...!"

...

...

Ellie and Joel both had their guns drawn when they realized that Claire had only staggered for a second. ...She just dropped her gun and fell to her knees as they all realized that the attack had come from an arrow that embedded itself in her back...

Joel kicked Claire's gun out of her reach as he pointed his gun at the culprit. "Come out! Ain't no use in hiding!"

Ellie gasped when they saw that Rylan had stepped out of the corn and into view with his hands and crossbow in the air, definitely not looking proud of himself. "It's just me, don't shoot."

"Rylan?! What the hell are you doing here?" Ellie exclaimed, she thought that Rylan was sick, but damn he looked pale. "Why'd you leave the cabin?"

"Boy, you better start explaining yourself, now!" Joel barked as he still had his gun aimed for the brunette.

"...A guy with blonde hair held me at gunpoint last night. Any regular bandit would have shot me, but he didn't... he hesitated." Rylan explained. "It just seemed all too coincidental, I had to make sure, and follow you guys."

"..nngghh.. *sob* *sob*" All three of them turned their attention towards the blonde girl on her knees. The pain in her back was nothing compared to the pain in her heart. "...He was never going to kill you... and you..." Her body slumped as she fell forward into the mud with a splat...

Joel immediately rushed to the girl's side and checked her pulse. "She's still alive, if we get her back to the cabin, we can still save her."

"Why?" Rylan questioned. "We got her boyfriend killed, and she tried to shoot you both."

"Rylan!" Ellie was appalled with his cold remark. "What the fuck? We can't be assholes to her now and just leave her to die!"

"That's quite a mouth you got on ya..."

All of the cornstalks around them began to rustle violently as the barrels of rifles and pistols poked out of the sides of the clearing they were in. Rylan had even raised his hands when he felt the barrel of a gun press against the back of his head as a man stepped out of the corn behind Rylan.

"...what else ya got?"

Joel and Ellie looked around in a panic and saw that they were surrounded by at least half a dozen other men. They were trapped, and if they made a move, they would be shot to pieces. "What the hell do you want?"

The man they identified as the leader of the gang gave a smug smile in victory. "Glad to see we can be civil about this, I hate to spill more blood than I need to."

It was Ellie who yelled at him next. "Who the fuck are you?!"

"Ah, my name's Grant honey." He tried his best to turn his sinister smile into a kinder smile, it didn't work... "Pleasure to meet you."

Grant was a man who looked like he was around Joel's age, but he wore a dark brown coat with blue jeans in addition to black mountain boots. He also had a deep and gravely voice, sounded like he smoked too many cigarettes back in his younger days. He was fit though, looked like he could give you a beating. His brown hair, green eyes, and scraggly thick beard only added to his intimidating demeanor yet somehow he had an air of civility.

Joel growled while he tried to stop the bleeding from Claire's back. "You'd do best if you just leave us the hell alone. We don't got nothing you want!"

"Well I beg to differ." Grant smiled as he pushed Rylan forward so that he would join with Ellie and the others. "You folks do have something I want..."

"Just leave us the hell alone you asshole!" Ellie hissed, tempted to draw her gun on him but decided against it.

Grant ignored the redhead and instead put away his pistol and crossed his arms. "I'm sure we can work something out. Your friend looks she needs a doctor. If ya hear what I have to say, then I'll fix her right up back in my camp."

"Yeah right." Rylan clenched his fists in frustration. "You think we're stupid or something?"

"Well if you like, I can have my boys shoot you here right now and be done with it. ...Or we can help each other out, your choice." Grant began to pace back and forth in front of them. "Like I said, I have a doctor in my camp a little ways back, and I can have her right as rain if you do me this kind favor."

Joel, Ellie, and Rylan looked around once more to still see the rifles of Grant's men still aimed at them. Even if they worked together, they could not get all of them without getting shot. Unfortunately for them, it seemed like they had to take Grant's offer, and he could be able to save Claire's life.

Joel had already broken off the tail of the arrow and did his best to wrap some bandages around the bleeding wound. Claire was still unresponsive as he looked back up at the bandit leader. "What do you want?"

"Good. Now we're getting somewhere." Grant grinned, and with a motion of his hands he ordered his men to lower their guns and come out of hiding.

Eight burly men revealed themselves in the clearing they were in, and they all respectively complied with their leader's orders although Joel took note that all of their fingers were still on their triggers. Grant then stopped pacing and addressed his 'new friends' with a proposition. "My scouts have told me that you all held up with a man named Carter in that cabin last night. ...Did you?"

"What do you mean?" Ellie inquired wondering what Grant would want from the cowboy other than for food agreement.

"I'm a man of good faith..." Grant explained. "I trust those who stand with me. But sometimes, people misplace my trust in them, and then they find reason to hurt you..." Grant seemed saddened. "Carter was once a good friend of mine... Hell, I'd like to think he still is. But... he is very sick."

"Sick?" Rylan questioned as he wiped the sweat from his brow, still feeling a little weak from this morning. "Sick how?"

"Sick in the head, it's a shame really." Grant revealed as he looked up in the sky. "Got this whole damn idea that I'm his enemy, it's a real pain in the ass."

"I don't care about any of that!" Joel roared at him. "This girl is bleedin' out here, she needs help now!"

Grant snapped his fingers and two of his men came forward and grabbed Claire's body out of Joel's reluctant arms. The two men nodded to their leader which he responded with a nod in return as they took off into the corn and out of sight. "...We'll do our best to help her. Thank you."

Joel got back up and stood with Ellie and Rylan, and pointed his finger at him. "We ain't doing shit until-!"

But Grant interrupted him. "I'm afraid you're going to have to hear me out on this one. ...Carter always had a soft spot for kids, so little girl what I want you to do is lower his guard and you big man if you can, tie him up. I want him alive."

Joel responded threateningly. "Fine. But I swear-!"

"No need for swearing my friend." Grant silenced him once more as he snapped his fingers again which prompted two more of his men to advance on Rylan and grab him!

"HEY! Let go! Get off of me!" Rylan exclaimed.

"Let Rylan go you chickenshits!" Ellie tried to help but the sounds of half a dozen guns aimed at them stopped her. "What are you doing?!"

"The kid is just insurance. Don't worry, I'll be by at about dinnertime with both him and the girl. But if you don't have Carter on a silver platter when we arrive..." Grant grimaced. "I'll kill them both, and I'm sure no one wants that, right?"

"Goddammit..." Joel mumbled as he and Ellie watched as a struggling Rylan was dragged back in the cornfield with his captor.

"Guys! Just-Mrggh!" His words were silenced by the meaty hand of the henchman, and then Rylan was gone again.

Grant made a motion with his hand again which signaled their retreat. "You both have yourselves a nice day, see you soon..."

And the bandits disappeared into the cornfield, and not another second had passed when Joel and Ellie sprang into action and shot a couple a rounds into the stalks where Grant ran into but to no avail. They were already gone...

"We have to find them!" Ellie shouted as she dived in to chase after them.

Joel was right behind her but honestly he had enough of this shit. "Let's just get the hell out of this goddamn cornfield!"

* * *

**A/N- The bandit leader Grant has finally shown himself, what could he possibly have planned? What will he do to Rylan and Claire? And where did Brad's corpse go? What could be Joel and Ellie's next step? Find out more next time! :)**


	11. Chapter 11: Out of the Frying Pan

**Chapter 11: Out of the Frying Pan**

* * *

"Damn it... goddamit! Fuck!" Ellie was just so sick of corn by now.

She and Joel were wise to stick together like glue at this point because now it was just like 'the good ole days' with the two of them by themselves running around. After another minute of the vain search, Joel had enough and he grabbed Ellie by the shoulder and they both stepped out of the far edge of the cornfield, back on the side of where they could retreat to the cabin. Ellie had already begun to run ahead when Joel stopped her.

"Ellie!" He bellowed, and she instinctively stopped and turned back to him.

"What?!" She responded with a look of frustration. "What is it?"

"What do you think you're doing?" Joel inquired while he put away his gun and crossed his arms.

"I was going to go back to the cabin, thought that would be fuckin' obvious." Ellie meanly retorted. "I mean, we have to tell Carter about this or at least-!"

"Ellie! Listen to me..." Joel stepped forth and he looked like he didn't want to break some news to her. "The Fireflies are still after us... and this Devlin guy, he is after you... after me... after both of us. So, what we're going to do is loose them in those mountains." Joel pointed at the Rockies on the horizon. "Now we're just going to go and-!"

"We're just going to leave them?" Ellie shook her head at him. "Claire and Rylan... even Carter offered us a bed when he could have just shot us in the fuckin' faces. And you just want to abandon them, all of them?"

"Ellie, they're not our responsibility. We can't put ourselves at risk for every struggling survivor out there!"

"They're good people!" Ellie argued back.

"You barely know them. You only knew that boy since, what is it now, three days? Not even that..."

Ellie's face then became stoic at this remark, and she was about to tread on some mighty thin ice here. "...I only knew Tess for a couple of days..." No, you never bring Tess up, ever. "I trusted her with my life... and she, she gave up hers to buy us time to escape Boston..."

"Ellie, don't you go there..." He was angry, he was frustrated, that moment brought back some of the emotions and grief he had to bury deep down inside just to get out of that Capitol Building. "This is different."

"What about Sam and Henry? Are they any different?"

"Yeah... they are." Joel growled. "So you're telling me that kid... who shot a woman in the back with an arrow-!"

"You and I both know we've done worst things. And believe or not, Claire was going to kill us, or at least try..." Ellie sighed. "I just... don't want anyone else to die because of us..."

Joel turned away from her at that moment, her survivor's guilt was emanating so much that he started to get a little choked up from all the lives he had ruined over the two decades he survived in this world. But that's the thing, this _was_ their world, almost everyone you meet wants to kill you or they're an asshole, or they're both. But Joel studied Ellie's pleading face, her expression reminded him so long ago of when Sarah wanted him to buy a certain toy or some other nonsense. So Joel, much to his initial survivor's instincts, wanted to ask Ellie a question. "What was the boy's name again?"

"Rylan." Ellie replied, a glimmer of hope and gratitude began to etch on her face. "He sits in front of me in History class back in Jackson."

"Uh-huh..." Joel rubbed his nose as he placed his hands on his hips, avoiding eye contact with her. He never had to deal with stuff like this before, so it was sort of a strange first. "So uh... you like him then? You trust him?"

"Yeah." The redhead nodded. "He was there when... well he was just there. Saved me a couple of times since we met." Ellie smirked at the recent memory. "I-uh... trusted him enough to ask if he could teach me how to swim."

"Oh really?" Joel pried, curious as to the answer. "What'd he say?"

"He said a river full of rapids was no place to practice." Ellie chuckled. "He can be smart when he wants to be."

"Any family or friends back in Jackson?" Joel began to walk past her and he motioned her to follow him. "Anything else I should know about him?"

"Uh well... he said he lived by himself and uh..." No no no no, it would be wise to not tell Joel about the bottle of wine, or their moment when they woke up this morning. "...He's a good guy."

"A good guy huh...? Ain't that something?" He then sighed as he took his hand and rubbed his face, he also got some itches in his beard while he was at it.

"Yeah... it is." She smiled softly. "So, what are we going to do then?"

Joel affirmed her. "I reckon we just get back to the cabin, get some supplies and we'll see what happens..."

The two of them eventually made it back to Carter's Cabin without incident. They stepped through the front door and saw the old cowboy whistling a tune as he whittled on a piece of wood with his knife. Ellie's eyes also curiously found Rylan's backpack on the back of one of the chairs. He left his backpack behind...?

Carter grumbled as he shaved another layer of wood on his mini-sculpture. "Four of ya leave... two come back, somethin' bad happen? Usually always do."

Before Ellie could even ask her first question, Joel advanced on Carter and pointed his gun at him. "Drop the knife. Now!"

"Joel! He just-!"

"Quiet, Ellie! Go find some tape or rope or something. Now I said drop it!" Joel ordered. "Didn't I?"

"I reckon you did partner." Carter remained calm as he let his knife fall to the floor with a clank. "I suppose this is what's comin' to me for trustin' others... Oh well."

"We're not gonna kill you if that's what you're thinking, we just need to ask you some questions." Ellie responded as she came back with an old grey roll of duct tape.

"Wrap his wrists and ankles baby girl, go on I'll cover ya." Joel encouraged her to listen to him. "Met your buddy Grant... he's a real nice guy." He stated sarcastically.

As Ellie reluctantly wrapped the duct tape around his wrists and placed them behind his back, she went straight to work on his ankles already. "He has Claire and Rylan... and he wants you to join back up with him."

"Cheyenne my ass." Joel huffed. "Is anything you mention about Grant true? Because I do not have any more time for lies!"

"I see how it is..." Carter sighed. "Grant's got you thinkin' I'm crazy now right?"

"How'd you know?" Ellie quickly inquired.

"Point that finger at him, that's exactly why I left his group... he's, Jesus... he said he was off makin' a difference." Carter shrugged his shoulders. "Helpin' the world become a better place... or some bullshit like that..."

"He wants you back," Joel gave a supportive but anxious glare at Ellie, which she nodded in response in gratitude. "We're gonna trade ya for our friends... that's how it's gonna be."

"That Grant guy will kill them both otherwise, so... sorry." Ellie apologized to the bound cowboy. "And unless we can think of something else by sunset-!"

"Ellie... hold on a moment." Joel oddly put his gun away and looked out the windows of the cabin, only to shutter them closed and isolate the three of them from the outside world. "...I think I got an idea."

"Wait what?" They both questioned at the sudden change in attitude. "Joel?"

"I think I have a plan..." Joel answered them vaguely. "Just trust me, okay?"

"You? You have plan?" Ellie joked as she crossed her arms. "That's a first."

"Knock it off."

"Somethin' that makes us all happy? I'm all ears. I'll tell ya everythin' I can too." Carter affirmed his concerns of never wanting to return to Grant's group. "What'd you have in mind?"

"Alright, here's what we do..."

* * *

Darkness...

Darkness was all he saw...

His eyes were enveloped by a black rag or a blindfold of some kind, and he could feel that his wrists were handcuffed to a vertical pipe on a wall. Rylan's hands were over his head and it was physically awkward to wait there in a position other than standing.

"I've been here five minutes and I already hate it here!" He shouted to what he saw as an abyss. "I saw most of your faces; I don't see why I have a blindfold!"

"No need for shouting, I'm right here."

Rylan felt a tug on his head as his captor took off the blindfold, and he revealed himself to be Grant. The brunette looked around the room he was in. It looked like an old wet basement of a building. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all concrete cement, and the room was lit by only candlelight of which there were five, one for each corner. The fifth candle however was placed on a simple metal table with two chairs on either side of it. Rylan deduced that this was their interrogation room of some sorts... But why was he here? Oh god... the smell!

"It stinks in here! And are you going to un-cuff me?" Rylan sneered at the only other man in the room. "Or have I not earned that luxury yet?"

"Not yet, hold your horses." Grant responded as he waved him off. "Hey girl, how you doing?"

_*growl*_

"Jesus!" Rylan had only noticed the large grey wolf obediently and silently sitting in the corner albeit it was collared and chained to the wall. The wolf was snacking on something... Its dull grey and black fur blending into the shadows of the basement they were in. The large canine's black eyes were the eyes of the pure wild animal held in this captivity. She woofed as she acknowledged her master and continued with her meal, which was... "Oh my god..."

The wolf was picking the meat off of the bones of a very familiar looking body. Mangled and bloody, the wolf had already torn away at the clothes, and the blonde mat of hair had lost any shine or decency. There was no mistaking it... this was the man Rylan starred down the barrel of a gun during the rainstorm last night...

"Glad we got to feed her today... she'd been starvin' for a while now." Grant smirked smugly. "Pepper is a cutie-pie though, ain't she?"

The wolf named Pepper relentlessly gnawed at the bones of her captured prey, now already past the muscle and working on breaking down the right femur of Brad's body. It took nearly all of Rylan's willpower not to vomit again, even from just the smell alone. "What kind of sick bastard does this to a person?!"

Grant chuckled. "Well... I've always liked the term 'throw them to the wolves...' besides, couldn't let good meat just rot away like that in the middle of a damn field. It's a waste..." He then pulled up a chair and sat himself down in it, the light from the candle flickered and danced across his terrifying face. "...None of my men wanted him... too dead for their taste, so I gave him to Pepper..."

Rylan's eyes widened with the revelation of who these bandits were... who Grant really was. "Y-you eat people?! No! ...NO! Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you! Cannibalism is not the answer!" Rylan struggled with all of his might to pull away from the metal pipe he was cuffed to, but to no avail and only achieved the bleeding of his wrists. "You fucking sick bastards!"

"Heh-heh, that was quite an outburst, must still have some energy in ya." Grant smirked as he looked back at Pepper. "No worries, I only go after the people who were going to die anyway... the blonde girl who's in our care, I won't feed her to Pepper... I'm a survivor, not a monster."

"We're all monsters..." Rylan mumbled under his breath, scared for his life now.

"Some more than others." Grant added to the fact as walked over to Rylan and placed a small metal key in Rylan's palms to which the boy could un-cuff himself which he did as Grant sat back down. "Take a seat."

Rylan hesitantly looked at his chair and then Pepper, he wondered if that chain would hold the beast. The animal growled and eyed him hungrily as the brunette sat down across from Grant. "Where's my crossbow?"

"Part of my collection." The older man simply replied. "We promised your life, not your things."

Rylan scoffed. "Are you going to eat me and Claire, if Joel and Ellie don't give you Carter?"

And that was when Grant gave the widest and most sinister smile Rylan had seen on him yet. "Well, that remains to be seen... You have a lot of friends little man?"

"It's Rylan," He stated flatly. "Make sure to put that on the menu."

"Witty." Grant chuckled. "No, I mean new friends... friends you owe favors to, friends that we have in common..."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Rylan questioned, but he didn't receive a respond when he heard loud footsteps from upstairs and then the sounds of a door opening then closing. A moment of silence had passed without another word being said.

And out of the black shadows of the basement they were in, a man with a black trench coat stepped out, and underneath it was a Firefly officer's uniform...

"Hello boy..." Devlin greeted darkly as suddenly kicked Rylan's chair and he fell to the ground.

Rylan had landed in the bloody mess that was the remains of Brad, and a booming bark and snarl echoed in the basement as he narrowly retreated from the snaps and bites of Pepper, just itching to get a fresh kill instead. But in fear of the wolf, Rylan crawled backwards until he backed into the Commander's legs. And the next thing he knew, Rylan was picked up by the collar and slammed into the wall still reeling from the utter shock from the change of events. "You!"

"Yes ME!" Devlin roared as he punched Rylan in the stomach to which he keeled over in pain. "You remember me? Yes?!"

Rylan gasped for air, he did his best to respond to the strong man. "Y-yes..."

"Fan-fucking-tastic boy!" Devlin commended him. "Glad to see your memory still works!"

Grant chimed in. "He found them, the old man, and the girl. Joel and Ellie I presume?"

"Yes... that's them." Devlin nodded as he stared down at the writhing boy still in pain. "Now... did you do what I asked?"

"*cough* *cough* ...what?" The brunette looked up to him.

"The answer you're looking for is no, you stupid little shit!" Devlin scanned his prisoner with hatred. "I let you out of Jackson... and in return, you find the immune girl, stick with her, and leave us a trail to follow... which you absolutely did not fucking do!"

...

"You wanna know why? ...Because, you're a monster... you're a murderer... and a terrorist..." Rylan bravely or foolishly faced him, standing on his own two feet. "The deal was off as soon as you let me go..."

"Is that right?" Devlin hissed as he placed a hand to the boy's throat. "Deal's off huh? Well then... aren't I fucking lucky that my pal Grant found you and the others?"

"By the way, how did my men fair in Jackson, did they behave?" Grant jokingly asked.

"They did their job, and they'll depart the settlement as soon as I get my cure. Got it?"

Grant nodded in compliance, seemingly satisfied. "Anything to save the world."

"Absolutely, anything to put the fuckin' human race back in control of its destiny..." The Commander then addressed the teen again. "Now Rylan, you accuse me of such names as monster and terrorist, but the proper title... I consider myself a servant of the world... a savior for the redemption of humanity... Tell me, who do you think you are?"

"Tch... don't you hurt a hair on-! ACK!" Devlin's hand had tightened around his throat, strangling him, and he lifted him up off the ground against the wall. "...stop... I'm..."

"No. I'll tell you who you are... you should consider yourself a tool at best, a means to which I will utilize and accomplish my goals. Or maybe, you're just a lonely boy who met the wrong girl..." Devlin declared as he released Rylan and he dropped to the ground like a heavy sack, coughing some more. "And you care about her now... How stupid can you be?"

"Devlin, what do you want to do? March to Carter's Cabin, and start a shootout?" Grant crossed his arms in dismay. "I would still see him that he return here unharmed."

"Put this pitiful boy with my other two hostages, I think we're going to play a very interesting game here, it's going to be fun..." Devlin smirked as he eyed Pepper and departed the room. "And bring that dog!"

Grant then grabbed the weakened Rylan off the ground and punched him so hard across the face that his head banged against the metal pipe and he blacked out.

...

...

_"Oh, there will be blood... but it will be your blood..."_

* * *

**A/N- And we bring Brad's fate to a close, but can they still save Claire? Will Joel and Ellie's plan be able to combat the incoming wrath now that they are within Commander Devlin's grasp?**

**:) This is still far from over, so await the next chapter: Into the Fire.**


	12. Chapter 12: Into the Fire

**Chapter 12: Into the Fire**

**A/N-Remember when Devlin had those jars of human eyeballs in his office? Well... enjoy. :)**

* * *

"Okay, we all know what we are doing, right?" Joel had reassured the both of them with the best hopeful facial expression he could muster. "Yeah?"

His plan was not much, hell if you can call it a plan at all. What they were supposed to do was make the trade, Carter for Claire and Rylan, and when the transaction was done, they would ambush them on their way back to their compound. It wasn't much, but they had to do with what they had. They just had to make sure that everything went over smoothly with Grant.

"Well I suppose so." Carter nodded as he adjusted himself in the chair, still bound by the duct tape. "He wants me alive, so I'm just worried 'bout you two bein' shot."

Ellie turned to the old cowboy and addressed him. "If you don't mind me asking, you barely know us, why do you-!"

"Sweetheart, I've been survivin' for a longer time than your old friend here and... I think seein' another girl die might just do me in, y'know? So, take that for what it's worth..."

"Tch... thanks I guess." Ellie smiled then looked to Joel. "This plan sucks..."

Joel sighed in agreement. "I know, yeah I know it does..." He then looked back to Carter. "Gonna have to be rough with ya, convince them we might kill you."

"Sure I can take a beatin' if that's what ya mean," Carter then threw out the idea casually. "Threaten to shoot off my trigger fingers, that'll really get'em riled."

"They must have really liked you in their group." Ellie noticed as she made her way to Rylan's backpack which lay haphazardly on the floor right now which she picked up and slung it over her shoulder. "How come?"

"Seein' as how I was the oldest among their ranks, they considered me a sorts of an adviser or go-to guy for them big operations. Where to hunt. Where to place traps, and so on in that fashion."

As Carter rambled on, Joel checked the front windows and cracked the shutter only to peer out of it for a second and then suddenly slam it shut. "They're already here!"

"Well shit."

Joel shushed the two of them with a silent gesture with his fingers and placed a finger to his lips. "Ellie, you get upstairs and-!"

_*knock *knock* *knock*_

"...you get upstairs and Carter and I'll handle things at the table."

"What?! But Joel!"

"Do it!"

Ellie reluctantly complied as she headed upstairs. And Joel's eyes fell on the still bound Carter who sat at the table, placing his fate into his hands. This exchange was going to go down now...

_*thump* *thump* *thump* _"I hope someone is home! Hello?"

There was no mistaking it, the gruff voices on the other side of the front door were that of Grant's bandits, and Joel could tell from the footsteps that thumped on the porch, there were at least two of them.

"Door's open!" Joel called out to him as he stood behind Carter with a gun to his head. "Come on in with our people!"

"Much obliged." He heard one bandit respond as the doorknob turned and the door slowly swing open.

It was bandit in a red bandanna who oddly carried a dirty white cooler, and he was accompanied by two more crew members, each armed with a rifle, and they filed in acting like it was a regular dinner party. Only the lit fireplace burning some logs and some light peeking through the closed window shutters were the only sources of illumination allowed within the confines of the cabin. The three 'guests' recognized the situation before them at the table and if they were worried at all, they did not show it.

"Where's the boy and the girl?" Joel angrily inquired, slightly unsettled to see that they were not with company.

"They're outside." The Red Bandit pointed his thumb behind him. "Now... why don't you hand over our old cowboy over there? Nice and easy..."

Joel scoffed at that request, there was bullshit written all over here, and he was sure everybody already knew it. But that was when Carter said in the quietest whisper he ever heard from him.

"...Can you take'em?..."

"...Think so..."

"...kill'em then."

Joel didn't have to be told twice, and he used one of his makeshift shivs to cut Carter's bindings around his hands, and he gave him his second pistol.

Not surprisingly, the three bandits raised their guns as well and aimed them at Joel, but the third bandit aimed his rifle at Carter's leg, most likely in an attempt to incapacitate him.

Joel had quickly flipped the dinner table on its side to provide a little cover, but it soon did little to help their cause as earsplitting shots were being fired.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*!

The cabin was filled with gunfire, nearly deafening the occupants with the sound of bullets and sudden yelps of pain. Joel had killed the bandit on the right who got shot in the chest several times, but suddenly he could hear the grunt of Ellie as she leaped from the staircase onto the back of the bandit on the left as she dove her switchblade into her victim's neck! That bandit however missed his intended shot because of her, and the bandit's rifle bullet unfortunately found its way through the wooden table and into Carter's stomach...

"ACK!" The old man exclaimed when Joel spun around the table and tackled the last center bandit to the ground.

In a frenzy, the red bandanna bandit grabbed a nearby log next to the fireplace and tried to smash Joel over the head with it, however Joel blocked it with his arm but not without some pulsating pain that came from that trauma and Joel used the same shiv he used to free Carter to slam the knife down into the bandit's throat, and the blood spewed out and gurgling filled the first floor of the cabin. All three bandits were now definitely dead...

"Shit..." Ellie wiped the blood from her face as the bandit that she killed slumped to the floor. "Is everyone okay?"

"Not really... *cough*! That might've been a bad idea... but oh fuckin' well..." Carter was clutching his bleeding stomach, he tried his best to stop the oozing red from ruining his favorite shirt but... y'know gut-shots. "God... this hurts..."

"Oh fuck..." Ellie quickly turned to Joel. "What are we going to do?!"

"Get somethin' to stop his bleedin'." He ordered her. "They said they were outside so..." Joel was about to check the window when his foot kicked the white cooler that the bandit carried.

Hesitant as to what was inside of it, Joel took the handle out of the dead bandit's hand and brought the opening up to waist-level He opened the lid and he immediately dropped it and jumped back. "Shit!" And the cooler fell to the ground and its contents rolled out of it.

"Jesus..." Joel could barely believe it as he tried to recollect himself.

Already decomposing, Claire's decapitated head settled next to the light of the fireplace. Her face was grey and lifeless, and her eyes were closed shut, but where the hell is the rest of her?!

Carter had crawled around the flipped table to see what had alarmed Joel and caught his breath. "Oh... goddamn, poor fucking girl... *cough*"

"Oh my god..." Ellie gasped as she came back with bandages and a bottle of alcohol to clean and wrap Carter's wounds until she witnessed Claire's head as well. "Claire..."

Joel pulled out a rag in his pocket and he used it to cover his hands as he gingerly and delicately picked up the young girl's head and did the only thing he could think of. ...He tossed her head into the fire, for some form of cremation and just so that they didn't have to look at her any more.

"At least she can be with Brad..." Joel mumbled as the flames wrapped themselves around her and began burning her hair and skin. The smell was just awful, so Joel moved over to the windows to open them up.

Joel looked out the window though as Ellie began to fix Carter up to the best of her abilities. "Don't worry, I'm kind of a professional with these things... kind of."

Carter grunted. "I don't doubt it."

"We got a problem. No... Goddamit no!" Joel watched as he saw a line of at least two dozen men stand a few yards away from the cabin. He dreaded when he recognized the odd mixture of bandits and Fireflies to his dismay. And of course there among them was the man he stared down whilst he was on that motorcycle escaping Jackson.

Commander Devlin stood behind three hostages on their knees with black bags over their heads and their hands were bound. Grant stood by his side with his hands on his hips, looking like he had made the best alliance ever. But shit... here we go again.

"What is it Joel?" Ellie inquired as she tied the knot of bandages of Carter, who still could not stand on his own. "Are there more fuckers outside?"

"It's the Fireflies, they're here." This was exactly what he was afraid of. They could have been long gone if... "They're working with the Grant fella, and they got hostages too."

"Here to change the world I assume...? argh!" Carter clutched his belly in agony.

"Fuck... is Rylan one of the hostages?" She inquired.

"Yeah, the one on the right, he has his clothes, but the other two... oh no." Joel realized who they might be and his theory was confirmed when Grant and Devlin torn the black bags off their victims.

Rylan... and Tommy and Maria were at their mercy. All three of them were bruised and battered, and they were all held at gunpoint by either a bandit or a Firefly. Devlin then pulled out his megaphone and gave it to Grant and he aimed his now loud voice at the cabin's occupants.

"We apologize about the girl, she couldn't be saved, she was shot in the lung and drowned in her own blood." Grant explained. "We still have plenty of gambits to play with. So, why don't we get started?"

Tommy had piped up. "You ain't gonna get away with this!"

"Settle down Tommy boy." Devlin silenced as he took the megaphone from Grant and talked. "My name is Commander Devlin, acting leader of the Firefly Movement. And I'm going to make this really fucking simple... you will disarm yourselves of all weapons, and come out with your hands in the air. If you don't, your loved ones' blood will be on your hands... I promise you that!"

Rylan blurted out. "Ellie, Joel! If you're in there don't-! AH!" He grunted as he was smacked in the head by the megaphone. "Shit..."

"Fuck... fuck fuck fuck!" Ellie was in a panic. "What do we do? Joel?"

"I'm thinkin' I'm thinkin', I don't know!" His little brother and sister-in-law were out there as well...

Devlin smirked, looks like it was showtime. "Will you not comply? ...Alright." He then gave the megaphone back to Grant and stepped around Rylan so that they were face-to-face. Rylan was about to spit in his face when Devlin grabbed his neck and pushed him back until he was on his back lying in the grass!

"ARGH! Get off of me!" Rylan struggled to no avail, and then his gaze fell on the butterfly knife with a Firefly symbol on the handle. He flipped it around until the blade was revealed and he indefinitely pinned him to the ground.

"Boy... have you ever heard that the eyes are the window to the soul...?" Devlin chuckled as went on. "Well... I'm curious as to see what your young soul looks like, so why don't we open the window!?"

The Firefly Commander sloooooowly brought the blade closer and closer to his left eye...

A horrified Rylan began to yell as he tried to get away. "No! NO! NOOO!"

Devlin took his other hand and made sure he would stay still as he wanted this to be a clean removal. "Hold still boy, and give me your...!" And suddenly and violently, he drove his knife into Rylan's left socket, making a clean cut past the eyelid. Quickly twisting and cutting through the muscle and blood vessels around, Devlin pried the eye from it with a spray of blood which splattered both of their faces. "AAAAHHHH! AHHHHHHHHH! STTOOOPPPP!"

"Rylan!" Ellie moved to the window beside Joel as she watched the torture.

The Commander finally cut the last of the optic nerve and he pulled Rylan's whole left eye from his socket, drenched in red. A pool of blood remained on Rylan's face as he was in pure shock of the mutilation that happened to him. And the man got off of him and turned back to the cabin to present them his eyeball. "A keepsake..." The sick fucker grinned as he wiped the blood off his own face. "We can do this all night!"

"Kid. Kid! you alright? Wake up!" Tommy tried to nudge him and snap Rylan out of it. But his remaining eye already glazed over and he passed out.

"Please stop!" Maria begged her captors.

"Joel, we gotta go out there." Ellie declared. "We can't let this happen."

"Ellie, listen to me, they're gonna kill us and take you away if we do that." Joel reasoned. "If we go out the back and circle around-!"

"They'll die. And if we do anything else, they'll fucking die!" Ellie was almost close to tears now. "I can't live with that on me, no more..."

Carter groaned as he pushed the table on its right side and sat in one of the chairs. "What a crappy day..."

"I'll go out there myself, and you make a run for it!" Joel ordered as he made his way to the door, but Ellie intervened as she grabbed his wrist. "No! That's fucking stupid Joel! I'm not going anywhere!"

"You've only got one shot, literally." Carter interrupted them once more. "One of ya, take my rifle and shoot the bastard in charge. That's your best chance."

"Are you in any shape to shoot?" Joel asked him, to which he saw the cowboy shake his head and pass out into a bloody nap.

"Dammit, Ellie," He took Carter's sniper rifle and handed it to her. "Make sure they don't see ya. I'll go out there and draw him out then you put a bullet in his brain."

The redhead nodded and went to the window. The thing about this is they really did not have a lot of options. So maybe if they cut off the head of the snake then the body will die. "I got this. Just please be careful... if I lose you... I..." Ellie trailed off.

But Joel finished for her. "Me too, baby girl, me too." He smiled at her and headed for the front door.

"Perhaps some brotherly love will convince him." Grant suggested to which the Commander thought an excellent idea but then he had another even more entertaining one.

"How about you bring up the cage?" Devlin ordered Grant and two of his men and they knew exactly what they were talking about. "Oh?"

Grant had left down the hill as Joel stepped out of the cabin with his hands in the air, apparently surrendering. "I'm here! Don't shoot!"

Joel stepped off the porch and he walked towards the group of gunmen and the hostages to which he could hear Tommy and Maria protest. "No! Joel what are you doing?!"

"Nice to see you still have a shred of damn common sense." Devlin already had his gun on Joel, and he silently motioned for him to drop his backpack and disarm himself. "So Joel, how's your day been going? Fuckin' fantastic, I'm sure. One thing I've been meaning to ask of you..."

"Really? What's that?"

"Do you remember Marlene?"

"Of course I do." Joel started his conversation with him in an attempt to get him out in the open for Ellie to take the shot. "How could I forget?"

"Hmm... good." The Commander stepped forward so that he was in line with Joel and the cabin.

"Shit! Joel, you have to move!" Ellie cursed under her breath as Devlin was hiding behind Joel in the scope of the rifle.

"Let my baby brother and his wife go. The boy too. They've got nothing to do with this." Joel used this as a plea to hide his frustration and anger for this man. "I reckon we can still make this right. I'm sure we've lost enough people as it is..."

"You reckon?" Devlin chuckled. "...No, there is no amount of blood and flesh that could possibly outweigh the cure for the Cordyceps. Absolutely-fucking not!"

"What do you want me to say then?!" Joel yelled. "We are ALL survivors! ...And I found a reason to survive."

"Ellie..." Devlin snorted and spat on the ground. "That girl more important to you than the entire world?"

"She IS my world..."

...

...

_*howl*_

Devlin's frown then turned to that of an excited grin. He lowered his gun and stepped out of the way. "I'll be sure to tell her that before I cut her brain open..."

Tommy exclaimed. "Joel! Look out!"

So suddenly, a grey and black wolf ran past the group of armed men and the hostages. It snarled and barked as it ran past Commander Devlin, and Joel could only put his arms up in a defensive shield as Pepper tackled Joel to the ground and pierce her sharp teeth into Joel's left arm! "ARGH!"

The wolf had bitten down to the bone, and she tried to use all of her strength to tear at her victim, and also to reach her way to Joel's throat intending to rip that out and eventually devour him! But Joel was fighting back, he was kicking and bashing the wolf's nose and mouth, maybe he could get out it...

"Fuck! Oh fuck!" Ellie was snapping her scope from the wolf to a fully exposed Commander Devlin.

What should Ellie do...?

* * *

**A/N- Decision Time! Let's really think about this. Who should Ellie shoot? One shot... Kill Pepper the Wolf to save Joel, or Kill Commander Devlin and maybe end all of this...**

**Joel could still get out of it and save himself, we've seen him get out of worse. But Devlin's a monster as it is... But would it work?**

**:) Review your votes, they may alter the events of the next chapter or not.**

**Will Carter and Rylan come out of this alive? Can they all escape and triumph? Stay tuned for the next chapter: A Stick and A Hard Place.**


	13. Chapter 13: A Stick and a Hard Place

**Chapter 13: A Stick and a Hard Place**

**A/N- I know this isn't the best title but there are several stick references I'll be making. So I'm 'sticking to it'.**

* * *

"Fuck! Oh fuck!" Ellie was snapping her scope from the wolf to a fully exposed Commander Devlin.

What should Ellie do...?

"Goddamit Joel!" Ellie snapped back to Pepper the Wolf who was being punched in the nose by Joel violently.

"ARGH! GET OFF!" Joel shouted as the beast sunk deeper into his arm.

That was when Ellie fired Carter's sniper rifle, and the damn recoil from the gun was so bad, it really knocked the girl on her ass. "Shit!"

Almost instantaneously, the animal that was on top of Joel yelped when a mess of blood and gore appeared as did as hole in the canine's head, and the wolf released its grip and Joel rolled out from under her.

Devlin was alarmed by the sniper fire to say the least as he took cover behind a nearby tree and peered around to look at the cabin for any more shots. "Ellie I'm sure?! Or was that Carter?! Come on out so we can figure this fuckin' thing out!"

Joel pushed the body of Pepper off to the side and made a break for it for his backpack that was chock-full of weapons and only a few yards away of where he disarmed himself. But then the Commander spun back around and fired his gun at the old man, forcing him to take cover by another tree defenseless besides the cover of a wooden trunk. Devlin however kept him pinned there...

Ellie got back up and grabbed the sniper rifle again, she aimed the cross-hairs at the Commander and fired, only to find out that the clip was empty! "No! Shit! Carter where's the extra ammo?!"

And Carter was still passed out from blood loss... but she noticed something glinted in his hand...

Grant then came back up from below the hill to join the party, but he seemed to be in a panic. "Devlin we got Infected coming this way, NOW!"

_*Grooooah!* *Click* *Click* *Groooooah!*_

"What?!" Devlin exclaimed in disbelief, but then he commanded all of the Fireflies and Bandits who kept watch over Tommy, Maria, and an unconscious Rylan. "All of you! Kill those damn monsters and keep them at bay! It's time to finish this, right now!"

Devlin marched towards Joel, gun in hand as Grant and the rest of the men aimed their weapons at the incoming herd of Runners and Clickers. Now with all of them distracted, Tommy whispered over to his wife. "Maria honey, can you reach my hands? Try to untie them."

"I'll try." Maria nodded as she leaned over to him to the bindings around his wrists.

Joel clutched his bleeding and aching arm and looked around his cover to see that there was chaos afoot. But then the butt of a revolver met his face as Devlin quickly advanced on him, wanting to make him fight and suffer before he died.

Joel stared down the end of a gun barrel until he swatted away his arm and kicked him right between the legs. Devlin recoiled and keeled over from the pain but retaliated with an uppercut with his left fist into Joel's chin and tried to aim his gun at him again. But Joel used both hands to try to control the gun and he forced it up into the air. Both of the men's strength found their way on the trigger and they fired the gun.

_*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*_

And then the gun clicked, signaling that it no more bullets to offer. And Joel locked a death glare with Devlin as he head-butted the Commander with all of his might and immediately tacked him to the ground! Joel had punched Devlin, right and left, right and left! But the Commander of the Fireflies found an opening between Joel's punches, and he swung his weight and spun themselves around, reversing their positions with himself on top.

"You son of a bitch!" He growled as he began pummeling him. "JUST FUCKIN DIE!"

Devlin's hands then slammed away Joel's injured and struggling arms and they wrapped around the old man's throat. Devlin gritted his teeth as he held dominance over his prey and he squeezed tighter and tighter around Joel's neck. He was gasping for air, powerless and without a weapon to defend for himself...

_*BANG*_

"AHH! ACK!"

Ellie had found one extra bullet in Carter's hand and fired it into Devlin's back...

Devlin had slackened his grip and he began to slump over from the impact and Joel took the golden opportunity. So he gave a powerful punch across his face and he rolled off of him as well, incapacitated and reached and clutched for his back ribs in agony. "Little Brother! We gotta go! C'mon!"

"I got it!" Maria exclaimed as she undid the knot around Tommy's wrists which unbound them and he quickly untied her wrists. "Joel!"

"Help me with him!" Tommy told her as Maria and him picked up a limp Rylan and slung him on his back.

_*Click* *Click* *Groooaaghh?* *Grooah!*_

Maria and Tommy were now free, but the sounds of men screaming filled the air as Clickers began to bite and devour some of the gunmen behind them. Grant then looked back and saw that Commander Devlin was on the ground and the hostages were free and making a break for the cabin. "NO! Keeping shooting!"

Joel then picked up his backpack and joined Tommy, Maria, and a still unconscious Rylan and made their way back on the wooden porch. "Get inside!"

Tommy looked back at the oncoming Infected that was about to engulf them. "Holy shit!"

They all quickly filed inside the cabin as the herd of Infected became louder and louder. Ellie had shut the window shutters and they grouped together around the dining table, and she addressed them. "Everyone alright?"

"The kid's still outta it." Tommy motioned to Rylan still on his back. "Who's he?"

Joel ignored his brother's comment on Carter and brought them back to the reality of this precarious situation. "Never mind that, we gotta get out here, now!"

"Are you kidding?! It's a cluster-fuck out there, how are we..." She trailed off but then her face lit up. "Wait a second, I got an idea!"

Joel barked at her. "Ellie we don't have time for this!"

"We need a distraction to get away from the Infected and cover our asses. So..." The redhead reached inside her backpack and pulled out the five sticks of dynamite she picked up from the mine. "This'll work, right?"

"Oh my god, Ellie where did you get those?!" Maria exclaimed.

Admittedly, Joel could see the logic in Ellie's explosive plan, but that's the thing, it was explosive. And even worse, this was dynamite, they needed to get far enough away so that they wouldn't be affected by the blast, but who would stay behind to light the fuse?

The Infected growled and roared as they began to bang and slam themselves into the front of the cabin. Glass began to shatter and the hinges of the door began to gave way under the repeated abuse of the fungal predators. If they were going to do something, they had to do it now!

"...I'll do it."

They all turned to the willing volunteer who sat at the table, his hand covering his red-stained shirt. And Carter repeated himself through another croak. "I'll do it."

"You'd be doing some good here, old man." Joel agreed with him.

"Carter... y-you..." But Ellie stopped herself. Of course she felt guilty that another person was going to die because of the their circumstances, but the thing was all of them were not going to argue with him about this. None of them knew this dying old man for more than a day and yet...

"It's alright Ellie..." Carter coughed as he extended his hand and reached in his pocket and surprisingly pulled out a single cigarette. "I don't think I can walk on my own, and you already got your boy there to worry about. ...One thing I was honest about ya'll... this was my daddy's cabin, and I'm old enough to know this is how I want it to end, right here... besides... I'd just slow ya down anyway..."

Maria then went up to this old man she never met before, a stranger willing to sacrifice for her and the people she cared for. "Thank you, thank you so much."

"Don't mention it." Carter grinned through his pain. "Now, anybody got a light?"

"Ellie, wrap the sticks and fuses together." Joel ordered as he pulled out a set of matches and lit Carter's cigarette. "We gonna make a run for it out the back door. Ready?"

Tommy, Maria, and Ellie confirmed with a nod or 'yeah'. No time to collect more supplies from the cabin, they had to get the hell out of dodge. Joel gave his matches to Carter, and Ellie gave him the bomb he was suppose to light. "Now go on, get out of here!"

"Thank you..."

"It's okay..."

Ellie left him to his own devices and she joined her group by the back door, all of them except Tommy had a gun drawn waiting to charge on out of there. The Infected suddenly broke half the door down, and Runners were clawing their way in and roaring at their potential victims. "Let's go!"

Their group swung open the back door and stormed out of the compromised cabin. However, Carter remained calm and he breathed in his cigarette deeply as he lit another match to light the combined fuses of the bomb. He tossed the bomb on the floor and took another toke of his 'cancer stick'. Not really concerned about his health at this point...

The old cowboy smirked. "End of the line huh? Hmph..."

Runners and Clickers had barged through all the front entrances of the cabin and soon it began to fill up. The monsters lunged at a peaceful Carter as the sparks along the fuses disappeared into the dynamite...

_*Grrooah?*_

_..._

*BOOM!*

The group looked back from the mountain path they were on to see the cabin engulfed in the explosion and then be consumed by red and orange flames. They all looked on in awe as the log cabin was already beginning to loose its form and the wood that made up its walls and roof turned black as the fire drew all of the Runners to the sounds of its cackling of the flames and brightness of the explosion.

Ellie looked on at the carnage of the structure and she heard the screams of the Infected as a good number of them were burning to death. She seemed frozen, almost unable to realize what just happened until Joel brought her back. "Ellie? ...We got to go."

She nodded. "Okay."

And they kept moving... It was like Tess all over again...

* * *

...

The five of them kept running and soon the running turned into climbing as they went higher and higher up the mountain. They were all exhausted from the hours of excruciating travel. They wanted, no needed, to get as much distance as possible from the blown up cabin and the Fireflies. It got cold though and the sun had already set as the night began to take them once more. They had to find some shelter.

"Hey look at that." Maria pointed at what looked like a small shack just off the trail on the side of the mountain. It had a small antenna on top and it looked abandoned. "Might be a good place to spend the night."

"Sounds good. Argh!" Joel winced as he coddled his left arm from the bite mark. "Damn dog..."

"Is Rylan still sleeping?" Ellie inquired to Tommy who still carried him. "He's been out for a while."

"Out like a damn light..." Tommy sighed. "Let's just stay in that shack there. Think we could all use some rest."

"I'll check it out." Maria offered as she pulled out her gun and approached the small door, but Ellie came up behind her and pulled out her pistol as well.

"I got your back."

Maria nodded to her and then Joel as the three of them opened the door and walked into the windowless building. Everything was silent as they traversed the one room shack, and the floor was made of cement. It only had two cots in the corner of the room, some electronic equipment, some empty cabinets, and an old wooden stove.

"Clear!" Maria told the rest of them. "Looks like whoever was here, left a while ago."

"Good we can rest here for the night and figure things out in the mornin'." Joel stated as he closed the door behind them. "Try to get that stove working for some warmth."

"Your arm okay?" Ellie asked in concern. "I know you cleaned it and bandaged it but-!"

"I'm fine, Ellie." Joel responded and pointed towards one of the cots. "Tommy, put the boy down over there."

"Right..." Tommy panted as he flopped Rylan off him and onto the bed. "Honey, can you check on his eye?"

"I can take a look." Maria replied as she went over to Rylan and Tommy came back to address Ellie and Joel.

"So what are you thinkin, little brother?" Joel questioned as he gingerly crossed his arms. "Could they still be following us?"

"Well, the way I see it, them Bandits and Fireflies were steamrolled by them Infected. Joel..." Tommy suddenly spoke in a more serious tone. "...Did you kill Devlin?"

"I shot him..." Ellie chimed in. "I know I got him when he was on top of Joel."

"Ain't no way he got out of that." Joel declared with confidence. "You saw it yourself they were almost on top of us."

"Maybe... probably. I don't know..." Tommy shrugged his shoulders, unsure of the Commander's fate. "But what I think we should do is go on back around the long way and get back to Jackson, take back our home."

"Sounds good." Joel then looked back to Maria then to Ellie. They were all tired of running away. "We'll head out in the morning. Tommy, I want to be sure about this place so let's scout out the surrounding area, make sure nothing wakes us up in our sleep."

"Alright." He agreed with his elder brother as the two of them exited the shack.

"Ellie!" Maria called her over to the cot. "He's awake."

"Oh my god, Rylan. Are you okay?" Ellie was by his side in mere seconds as he began to stir and only able to open his right eye.

"Oh... fuck. Ellie?" Rylan groaned as he turned his head to her. "...Am I still pretty?"

She chuckled at that, relived that his sense of humor wasn't affected. "You look like shit."

Rylan's face was stained with his own blood, and his left eyelid remained shut with no eyeball to keep it open. But Maria was kind enough to get some white bandages and gently wrap the gaze around his head to hide the mutilation. "I feel like shit..."

"There are bruises around your throat and stomach too. So, you're going to stay here and not move a muscle." Maria ordered in a motherly tone. "You're going to hurt like hell the next few days."

"Great... *sigh* oh shit! Claire!" He shot himself up only to wince in pain some more. "Ow!"

"What did I just say?" Maria pushed him back down. "Settle yourself down now."

"She's dead Rylan... they uh... sent us her, her head." Ellie sadly informed him to which his eyebrows raised at that.

"Oh no... h-her head?!" Rylan stared at her wide-eyed. "Jesus, then they... they ate the rest of her..."

"What?!" Both girls exclaimed at that.

"They eat people too?! Those fuckin' animals!" Ellie cursed the bandits and specifically the Grant character.

Maria had her cheeks puffed out as she covered her mouth, and with all of her might she held back the vomit and swallowed it. She weirdly enough had been throwing up a lot since they were hostages of the Fireflies and Devlin... maybe it was because of that, no... "You two stay her... I-I need to check on Tommy and Joel. Just... behave." It was as good an order as any.

Rylan and Ellie watched as Maria excused herself from the shack to find the Texan brothers, leaving the two teens by themselves, and Rylan's eye looked downcast as he realized that he almost died today, and he had to tell somebody what happened to him.

So he said so matter-of-factually and so off-topic, "...I had to kill my mom..." His remaining brown eye seemed so cold. "She wasn't even Infected..."

Ellie was shocked to say the least as she took in one of the revelations of Rylan's past, and his mother's fate, matricide. "W-what?"

"I want you to know what happened to me Ellie... before I came to Jackson. ...I'm ready now." He firmly told her. "Please..."

"Rylan... what the fuck did you? What happened to you?"

He sighed as he began his story. "It all started with this guy we elected in our old town... I'll never forget his name...

Ellie's entire body froze, unable to move a muscle, and her mind wandered back to the dark recesses of her mind as she heard him mutter this man's name.

"...David..."

* * *

**A/N- Rylan's history will finally be revealed next chapter! And do you think Devlin or Grant survived the Infected onslaught? Will the group find more friends or foes on their trip back? And what's wrong with Maria...? *hint***

**Find out next time, stay tuned for Chapter 14: Our Dark Pasts**


	14. Chapter 14: Our Dark Pasts

**Chapter 14: Our Dark Pasts**

**A/N- This will be mostly a long Flashback Chapter for Rylan and a Mystery Character, this is just background for the two of them so sit back and be entertained. Hopefully :)**

* * *

_8 Months Earlier..._

The quiet calm of the winter morning was tranquil; the sun's rays glittered against the new sheet of powdered snow in the forest. In their thickest coats they owned, a man and his son were out on the hunt, both lying on the ground prone on a rocky ledge overlooking a clearing where a mighty buck with prominent proud antlers was grazing on the sparse grass.

"You see him? Line up the shot."

The boy complied and he lined up the cross-hairs so that he could shoot the animal, "Now hold your breath... Steady..."

_*BANG!*_

The kick of the rifle shot back into his shoulder which caused the bullet's path to veer off to the left, and it hit the snow right next to the now alarmed deer. He then ran off, out of sight.

Rylan had missed…

"No! ...I didn't mean to! I-I-I thought I would get him! I'm sorry Dad!" Rylan panicked, he knew how much they needed the meat.

"It's okay son..." He frowned past his graying goatee and aged face. Rylan's father had salt and pepper hair and he wore a thick green wool coat. His brown eyes had a glance of disappointment in them but they also accompanied a sense of regret. "Perhaps you weren't ready for the rifle... we're low on ammo as it is, let's get back to town." He then stood up.

"Dad! Please I can do this just give me another chan-!"

"I can't afford to give you another chance Rylan!" His father bellowed. "Our town is starving! ...But this was my mistake... Maybe hunting is not your calling."

"Dad... I'm sorry..." Rylan sadly stood up to follow his father.

"Well, sorry isn't going to bring that buck back ain't it?" His Dad shot him down but then immediately regretted that as well. "...Let's get back to your mother, you hear? After we report to James."

"Yeah... right." Rylan nodded as his eyes were downcast.

The two of them left the forest with only the small game of a rabbit that Rylan's dad had shot with his crossbow at the beginning of their hunt. The snow was falling and the wind was blowing as they made it back through the outer perimeter and the guards of the old town they all resided in. The two of them walked down Main Street as each of their steps made a crunching sound beneath their feet as they made the next right and then a left, and they found themselves next to the butcher shop.

As they walked into the dingy store that was the butcher shop, James had already come out of the back room to meet them halfway at the front counter. "I see you're not dragging a deer in here... Thought you were getting some big game?"

Rylan's dad grimaced at him. "Just a rabbit from us, wanna put that in the ledger?" He held up the carcass of a small white bunny.

James scoffed at that. "Not much, maybe seven pounds if we're lucky." He took it from him. "David will be disappointed, I hope you realize how fucked you might be Kevin, more than most of us..."

Kevin looked at his son and he only avoided his glares, both his and James's. "I'll take my chances."

"Then get outta here." James growled at them both. "I've got work to do."

Kevin and his son Rylan left the butcher shop and made their next destination to their private apartment which was right next to this ratty game store. Kevin opened the front door and let them in. He closed the door behind them and sighed. "Put the rifle in the bedroom."

Rylan nodded and complied as he ran off with the gun down the hall. Kevin went to the living room and he found a note that was laid on the side table next to an old blue couch. He took the note and read it... of course it was from his wife... Wait a second, what the hell?! The apartment looked more messed up and knocked over than usual!

_Kevin-_

_Please I've asked you several times before we need to leave this town! There's nothing here for us other than suffering. Even now for some reason I feel like our family is being watched. David has asked to talk to me so I should be home by di-_

The letter had been violently cut off...

"Becky..." Kevin gasped at the worst possible scenario that might have happened. "Oh god... Rylan! Rylan!"

"Yeah? What's up Dad?" The boy came into the living room, but his heart sank when he recognized the distress on his father's face. "Where's mom?"

"She uh... went to see David, alright. I'm gonna head across town and meet up with them." Kevin ordered him as he pocketed the note and went back to the front door, crossbow in hand. "Stay here till we get back, got it?"

"Got it." Rylan nodded again.

"Good... and uh, son?" Kevin gripped the doorknob as he looked back at the brunette. "Don't worry about the deer... I'll be back."

"Okay..." Rylan turned his back on him, and yet still he felt a pang of shame. "See ya."

Kevin opened the door and let in a rush of cold air into the apartment, and he quickly closed it behind him, leaving Rylan alone at their home. What was going on that got Rylan's dad so riled up?

Hours had passed, and Rylan found himself fiddling with the family rifle, checking it, inspecting it, and seeing if there was something wrong with it. How could he have missed that shot?

Rylan then looked out the window and the sun was already at high noon. "It's getting late... maybe I should check up on them? They've both been gone for a while."

Rylan slung the rifle over his back and got his coat as he headed out into the freezing air. Each of his hot breathes were apparent with each exhale as the boy traveled across the town towards the office building David used as his headquarters. His dad worked with him often with his time on the council so he knew the man relatively well... at least he thought so.

The winter wind began blowing harder and harsher as he eventually made it up a few steps and a white wooden door which was the entrance to two-story structure. He opened the door and let himself in, and he found the interior equally as cold if not colder than the outside. Rylan had gotten used to seeing steam coming out of his nostrils with each exhale as he traversed the foyer.

"Where are the guards at?" He wondered.

_*BANG* _

The gunshot echoed throughout...

"AHH!"

There was no mistaking it, that scream belonged to... "MOM!"

Rylan sprinted towards his mother's cry of horror, he immediately went upstairs and the boy found that there was a slightly ajar door filled with light. Rylan got his rifle ready and crept up to the side of the door, he was about to bust in but he suddenly could also hear David's voice from inside.

"...Look what you made me do!" David growled at someone else. "I try and try to protect you both... but you had to go and ruin it for yourselves..."

"No... I see you for who you really are!" Kevin coughed.

_Dad..._

Rylan busted through the door with his rifle in hand, only to be appalled and absolutely horrified of the scene before him. David was above his father with a gun in hand as Kevin clutched his chest tightly as his shirt began to steadily stain red with blood from his wound. Rylan then noticed his mother in the corner of the office room chained to the floor by her ankles and wrists, bloody, beaten, and sodden...

"Rylan! NO!" She screamed.

"Well..." David smirked at the boy who had frozen at the doorway. "It seems that everything does happen for a reason..."

"Dad... Mom..." Young Rylan cried. "What are you... doing to them?!"

"The good of the community is in my best interest, you may not yet understand, but your mother is a... valuable asset to my men..." David honestly informed to him. "Your father didn't really agree to it..."

"She is not your whore! Rylan, shoot him!" Kevin demanded of his son.

Rylan was about to wholeheartedly comply with his dad's final request when he felt the butt of another rifle bash him in the back of the head, which made him momentarily blackout.

"...What...?" The boy slowly muttered as he struggled to maintain consciousness.

"Kill the boy and the father..." David ordered to one of his minions as he left the office building. "I gotta go out for a hunt with James..."

The henchman clad in black winter clothes nodded as his boss exited the room by stepping over Rylan. The boy could only watch in horror as his father held out his hand to him with tears in his eyes, unable to reach him... as he was executed right there in front of his eyes... shot in the head by the goon.

His father was motionless, bloody and dead...

"You're next kid..." The man chuckled as he aimed his gun at him.

"NO!"

Rylan caught a second wind and found himself on his own two feet, ignoring the throbbing pain from his head. He tackled the minion's arm which held the gun. His aim went wild from the recoil of the boy's surprise attack, and the path of the bullet lined up with the women in chains in the corner of the room as he planned to fire...

_*BANG*_

"Rylan..."

Rylan didn't waste any time as he quickly grabbed the rifle that was lying next to him and he shot almost point-blank range at the goon in front of him, blowing nearing half of his head off...

_*BANG*_

Bastard was dead...

...But Rylan's tears would not stop when he saw that his mother was bleeding profusely from the side of her stomach... the bullet that was meant for him had instead found its way into her...

"Dad... Mom... I... I... I couldn't..." The boy fell to his knees next to his dead father and his dying mother... "Don't... oh my god... I gotta get you out!"

Voices rang from downstairs. "What was that?! Come, let's go!"

"Rylan... *splutter* they're coming..." Becky comforted. "It's... It's going to be okay... I promise... Please... you can't let them take advantage of me... I'm so sorry, it has to be this way... but you or your father would never want this..."

"Mom, no no no! I can get you out!" Rylan looked around to cut the chains around his mother but in the ensuing panic, he couldn't find anything useful. "Mom... I can't leave you..."

"You have to shoot me sweetheart, and then run... run my little boy... run and don't look back... Please..."

"No... This can't be... _*sob*_ this can't be happening..." Rylan gulped as he choked back his grief and suffering. "...please..."

"You have to Rylan..."

The boy tossed the empty rifle and picked up his dad's crossbow which was laid on the table with a single arrow loaded on it. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry mom..."

"...It's going to be okay..."

_*SWOOSH!* _

She slumped to the ground as well...

And then the boy just ran...

* * *

_Back to the Present..._

"Oh my god..." Ellie gasped with her hand over her mouth. "Oh my god..."

"Yeah... she... Ellie, I don't know if I... I don't know if I made the right decision or I could have done more." Rylan twiddled his thumbs as he told his story to her, fighting back the tears. "Just... fuck..."

Ellie did not waste another moment as she embraced him in her arms, consoling and empathizing with him. "...You have no idea... me too..."

"W-what do you mean?" His expression was shocked to say the least.

And Ellie released him as she decided to sit right next to him on the same cot. "Rylan... I knew him..."

"Knew who?"

"He tried to..."

And then the two teens went on with their darkest confessions and their guilt and grew even closer to one another, bonding in a way further than the bottle of wine. How close they might have been to actually meeting up in the winter was weird. But the two of them realized these past few days were just... awful in a way. But they were both glad they knew of each other and what they would do for one another. They were also glad that Joel, Tommy, and Maria hadn't come back inside until they were both asleep.

In two different cots though that night, much to Joel's relief and for fear of Rylan's life...

* * *

**(?) POV:**

"_Where am I...? Not here again..."_

_I let myself into the apartment complex... had to clear it on her orders... but the damn place was filled with spores, good thing I had my gas-mask on._

_My mind was in a daze, I already walked this hall many times before, in every one of my nightmares... of course I knew what was coming, but that didn't make it any easier._

_As soon as I was at 'that' door, my body shuddered, my blood ran cold and the world I knew outside faded away and it was just me, right here right now, that's all I was aware of._

_I raised my gun at eye level, expecting Infected as I opened the door and stepped into what used to be a nursery. The old colorful walls and sparsely toy-littered carpet adorned the room, along with two white cribs..._

"_No..."_

_I heard the growling and the whimpering from across the room, actually it sounded more like..._

_*click* *click...*_

"_Please no..."_

_My gun was still in hand as I loomed over the crib to see its occupant. _

_I stopped looking around; I could hardly comprehend what I was seeing, I don't think I ever will. And I don't know what to do, I feel like I don't know anything anymore. I feel like there's absolutely no goddamn fucking hope! And I'm scared. I'm so fucking scared..._

_*click* *click...* groah...*_

_The Baby Clicker writhed around in its crib with its tiny body, the abandoned infant already smeared with that of a deep crimson blood. Its head twisted and corrupted by the Cordyceps fungus, which had rotted the never to be developed brain for perhaps months..._

_I picked up the former innocent child in my hands and held it over its crib, my fingers more than far enough away from its weak and repeated attempts of biting me._

"_Why... why did this happen to you?"_

_And then I turned around with the kid still in my hands away from the crib and now he was about five feet above the section of concrete floor in the apartment that served as a daycare..._

_I then stared into the Baby Clicker's eyes, wait what? ...They weren't there... of course they were covered..._

_No..._

_The baby tried to no avail to claw my sleeves with his pudgy hands and stained fingers, its echolocation switching back to that of a dying gurgling... I had to..._

"_Where is your soul...? Trapped by the parasite..." I mumbled under my breath. "Your eyes cannot release them, so I must..."_

_And then I let the baby go... and I let him fall..._

_Its skull smashed against the concrete with a crack which may have rattled its brain. So if that was not enough, I took my boot and slowly squished its head under my foot. Almost like a tube of toothpaste, and the fact that a baby skull was softer, the plates of the flaccid fungi and grey matter spluttered out from the broken crevices of the bone... and the dying cry was cut short..._

_...and all was silent again..._

_..._

**No POV:**

"Another dream about that thing..." Devlin rubbed his eyes as he came out of his slumber. "Argh!"

The Commander clutched his sides as he felt his back shoot up and down with splitting pain while he bit down on his tongue as he sat up from his linen-sheet bed. Wait... a bed?

"Where the fuck am I?!" Devlin bellowed as he examined his surroundings. He was in what looked like a hospital infirmary. Beds lined up with his on both sides in a large enough room, but they had their white curtains drawn around them for privacy.

Devlin however found his torso exposed and wrapped in bandages around his midriff and especially his back. He swung his legs around the side of his bed and attempted to stand, only to yelp in more pain again and sit his ass back down on the mattress.

"You're awake... that's good."

Devlin looked up and saw Grant pull the curtain back even more to find that the patient was conscious. He smirked as he reached for a walkie-talkie radio and spoke into it. "Devlin's up, return to base. That's an order. Grant out."

"What the hell happened?" Devlin asked as he looked downcast and stared at his Firefly dog-tags. "There were Infected and..."

Grant finished. "You were fighting with the old man when you got shot in the back with a rifle round." He crossed his arms as he grinned. "Damn lucky you were wearing that body armor to protect ya. Bullet tore it to pieces, broke a few of your ribs, and left you a hell of a bruise, but you lived... I got you outta there before Runners could beat ya to death."

"I got careless..." Devlin winced as he shifted his position to lean on his knees with his elbows. "This was my fucking fault and I got too impatient."

"No matter what you think Commander, this ain't over. A few of my men spotted them leaving out the back door before they blew up the damn cabin. We lost their trail though..."

"We need to wait then... if they think I'm dead... then we have all the time in the world now." Devlin whispered more to himself than to both of them. "Joel and Ellie need to feel safe again... however long that may be."

"We can comb the forest, look for them again-!"

"No... I've let my emotions drive me this far, and look where it has gotten us..." Devlin informed him. "We Fireflies are the light, we are the beacon of hope with an answer! And I will not allow any more mistakes to happen under my watch."

Grant then nodded in compliance. "What's our next move then sir?"

"...They say an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind, so with that in mind... let's inform the surgeon."

* * *

**A/N- And so our enemies will lie in wait until the right moment to strike. Will our heroes be prepared for what will come next and their time back into Jackson? Will Devlin and Grant have their revenge and their cure? Stay tune!**


End file.
